A Hero
by Christopher Scott
Summary: When Konoha is attacked, Hinata prays for a hero. A passing god creates a hero for the sole purpose of defense. Encountering much, the hero must learn if there is more to him then just a defender. truly, Christopher Scott: A Gentleman Thief
1. Chapter 1

A Hero

Chapter 1

I don't own Naruto, as I am not Kishimoto. If I misspell anything, please let me know.

13 year old Hinata Hyuuga sat in the middle of the field, praying to whatever deity passed by. Konoha had just avoided invasion, and was in a precarious situation. While they had very few casualties, there were still the dead to be buried.

"Anyone," she pleaded, "Please help us. We need someone to save us from disaster and to save the village. We won't last very long without any help."

_Sweet child_, two voices, one male and aged, and one female and young, said at the same time_,__ I__ will aid you, but, time is of the essence._

"W-who's there?" Hinata asked, startled by the ethereal voices.

_I am Inari,_ the voices said, _Now, hurry. Nearby, there is a featureless statue, of your height. You must pump a bit of chakra into it to let it start, then I will do the rest._

"How can I trust you?" Hinata asked. She had prayed for aid, but was careful to deal with someone she couldn't see, despite her Byakugan being active.

_Do you have a choice?_

Admitting to herself that she did not, as she had been the one to ask for aid, and it was being offered, she headed off to find the statue.

As Inari had promised, there was a statue of a human figure. Hinata was still cautious, and approached carefully.

_What are you waiting for?_ Inari asked, _Put in some chakra._

"What will happen when I do?" Hinata asked.

_It will help me give you the aid you long for_, Inari responded, _All I need is a little bit of chakra, and I can work on it._

Hinata was hesitant, but knew that this was probably the only chance she had at getting help to protect everyone she loved. She took a step forward and slowly put in the smallest amount of chakra possible, just in case.

_Take a few steps back, sweet child, _Inari said, _I will fill this being with life as best I can. To aid him, I will put Kyuubi, one of my more powerful servants, to give him a source of chakra._

As Inari spoke, Hinata did indeed step back and saw the statue begin to glow red.

_AVERT YOUR EYES, CHILD! _ Inari's dual voices cried out, _YOUR MORTAL EYES CANNOT HANDLE WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!_

Hinata did so, and shut her eyes tight for good measure, as a bright white light filled the surrounding area.

_You may look now, _Inari said gently, _The task is complete._

Hinata turned, wondering what Inari had done. Where the statue had stood, there was a standing boy with blond hair and closed eyes, dressed in an orange and black jumpsuit. Strangely he had three whisker-like marks on each of his cheeks. His eyes were closed, but when Hinata drew near, they opened, revealing reflective blue eyes that were very human.

Looking at her, he smiled a simple smile and said, "Hello, Reason I Have Life. I'm Naruto, and I am here to defend Konoha with my dying breath if need be."


	2. Chapter 2

A Hero

Chapter 2

I still don't own the rights to Naruto. Yeah. That's about all I need to say in the matter.

"H-hello, Naruto-kun," she said, stammering slightly, unsure of what to say to the living statue. As such, she attempted to start a conversation, asking "What are your interests?"

"I am here to protect Konoha," he said cheerfully, "I do not have any purpose outside of that task, and so I have no interests outside of it."

"Hey, Hinata!" Kiba shouted before he paused, seeing Naruto and drawing a kunai, asked, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Naruto, and I'm here to defend the village of Konoha at all costs," he said in the same cheerful voice.

"I had prayed and Inari had come and imbued a statue with life, creating him," Hinata explained, noticing her teammate's confused expression.

"Well, then, come on, Naruto!" Kiba said, his tone getting friendly as he wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulder, "We need to get you to the Hokage. He will probably want to see you."

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. Kiba and Naruto didn't get into a fight, so there wasn't any problem, so far. Following the boys to the Hokage Tower, she wondered what exactly was going to happen when the Hokage found out that he had a new member of the village who was so willing to defend it.

* * *

><p>"Could you repeat that?" the elderly Hokage asked, "I think I must have misheard."<p>

"Well, I prayed for a hero to defend Konoha, and Inari created Naruto to be that hero," Hinata replied.

Hiruzen Sarutobi released a long sigh. This was going to be a very long day. He now had a new shinobi on his hands, and there was only one team with an empty slot. Team Seven had been short one member for the longest time, as Kakashi's bell test frightened off the third member, yet Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno were miraculously able to get the bells without him, impressing the master of 1000 jutsus enough to pass the pair. This addition would likely cause issues for the team's dynamic, but that was all that he can do with the boy. If he was very lucky, this "Naruto" could be a good match for the team. Then there was the village's dislike of Inari's servants, dating back to when the Kyuubi led a group of kitsune through the village centuries ago. Still, this was all conjecture. He still hadn't tested the boy's skills, or his chakra affinity.

"Well, Naruto," he said, "I'm going to have to test your abilities before I put you on active duty."

"Yes, sir," the boy responded, "What do you want me to do?"

"First, let's test your chakra affinity," the Hokage said, taking out the chakra paper, "Please put a bit of chakra into this paper."

"Well, Kyuubi has fire affinity, and Hinata's chakra seemed to feel like water affinity. I wonder what I'll get." Naruto commented to himself as he pumped chakra into the paper. It suddenly split in half cleanly, though nothing had struck it.

"Ah, wind affinity," the Hokage remarked. This would be interesting. Perhaps he could get Jiraiya to help the boy later, "And how does your chakra network function? You are a statue, so it might be different. Hinata, if you could examine him."

Hinata did as commanded, activating her Byakugan as she turned to the boy. She gasped at what she saw.

"He doesn't have a network. It all just seems to flow from his torso to everywhere else, with no chakra points. By all rights, he should be immobile."

"Well, I am just a statue," Naruto remarked, "All the chakra is my system is from either Hinata or Kyuubi."

"I would recommend not mentioning that to anyone outside of this room," the Hokage said quickly, "The Kyuubi is a bit of a sore subject in the village."

"Yes, sir," Naruto responded, "Though, what will I say if someone asks why I have no chakra network?"

"Only Hinata's clan can see the chakra networks of others," the Hokage replied, plucking a leaf from a tree growing close by the window, "And if you wish to explain to anyone that you're a statue, you may, but I doubt that they will believe you. Now, what is your skill level? We will begin testing by having you spin this leaf on your forehead using only chakra."

Handing the leaf to Naruto, he watched as the statue did as he was told, albeit with a rather concentrated expression on his face. The leaf spun, slowly but surely before Naruto calmly removed it.

"Are you feeling well?" Sarutobi asked.

"I am fine," Naruto said, his face once more in a grin as he handed the leaf back, "Though He said he doesn't want to be used for 'something so simple.'"

"That will have to wait for a moment, as we still need to give you some more tests," the Hokage responded.

"Yes, sir," Naruto responded cheerily.

* * *

><p>It had been a long series of tests, but Naruto had proven himself capable of many useful traits. He could create Shadow Clones, strangely enough, but due to not having a chakra network to control in the ordinary way, as well as his having the powerful fox demon as his source of chakra, he could not create an ordinary clone, overloading them. He had also proven very adept at Teleportation and Transformation, the latter being a literal change, rather than a superficial one.<p>

On the other hand, he did not seem to have much skill in genjutsu, though his taijutsu was rather good. The Hokage made a note to himself to not introduce the statue to Gai, who he feared would convert the statue into another disciple. Two was enough.

"Very well, Naruto," the Hokage said, "You will be a member of Team Seven. I will inform your sensei of the matter later. Tomorrow, you will meet with your teammates and try to get them to accept you."

"Will them accepting me help me defend the village?" Naruto asked.

"Definitely," the Hokage assured, handing Naruto a forehead protector and a note stating where he needed to go to meet his team, "Now, Hinata, please help him get settled in."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the girl replied. As she headed out the door, Naruto followed close behind, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Professor, alone to ponder what was going on before he contacted the jounin.


	3. Chapter 3

A Hero

Chapter 3

I don't own Naruto, and that's all I'm going to say.

Naruto got to the training ground, having slept in the Hyuuga mansion, under the watchful eyes of everyone present. For some reason, they all seemed to be rather disturbed by his presence. Still, he was just as disturbed by the large veins in each of their eyes that seemed to be present only once they were aware he was there. Hinata's father paid special interest in him, seeming to be trying to find something in the boy that had walked into the dining room and seated himself in front of him during his breakfast. When Hinata woke, the man still had a blank expression as he asked his eldest daughter, "Hinata, who is this?"

"That's Naruto, Father," she responded cautiously, "He's new to the village and the Hokage told me to help him get settled in. Since he had no place to go and it was already rather late, I invited him to rest here."

"Where did he sleep?" he asked, still focusing on Naruto while surreptitiously reaching for the sword that was hidden under his seat.

"I slept in your garden!" Naruto cheered, "It was so beautiful in there, sir! There were so many flowers. The snapdragon complemented the gardenias and the color of the tulips had a fantastic contrast with the lilies. The rose maze was the best part, though. Each one led to a different wing of the garden."

"I see…" Hiashi commented, "Are you related to the Yamanaka family, by any chance?"

"That would be impossible," he said, "I don't have any relatives. I'm…"

"Well, perhaps we should get to our teams," Hinata said, not wanting to have to deal with having to explain that Naruto was a statue, yet. He was already in a bit of a mood having just met him. It'd be best for all involved if they explained later.

"You're right, Hinata," Naruto said, "The shadow that the juniper tree is casting says that if I don't leave now, I'll be late. I do not think that my teammates would tolerate a teammate being late."

With that, the pair left, Hinata dragging Naruto as quickly as she could to get out.

* * *

><p>Naruto waited for a couple hours, not getting near the pair of ninjas that had been giving him very dark looks since they arrived. The boy with black hair and eyes had his hair pushed back, reminding Naruto of ducks, for some reason and was dressed in blue. The girl with green eyes and pink hair was dressed in red.<p>

The two did not remove their glaring eyes from his face until a grey-haired man with a black mask covering all of his face save one eye walked up to them.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, addressing only the two, "I got lost on the road of life."

The two others present turned a shade of red and had their angry expressions directed at the man, but Naruto asked, "Where is that?"

"It's not real, baka!" the pink-haired girl shouted, "He's just lying to not tell us where he really was."

"I understand," Naruto said simply.

"My first impression of you," the masked one said, "is that you are someone the Hokage shunted on me. Let's start with introductions. That will probably be the easiest part of this entire thing. Sakura, why don't you start?"

"My name is Sakura Haruno," the girl said, "My likes are Sasuke-kun, learning medical jutsu, and hitting useless fighters and perverts. My dislikes are perverts and people who can't fight. My hobbies are reading and learning new things."

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha," the black-haired boy said, "I don't really have that many likes, other than training with Sakura. My ambition in life is to kill my brother and avenge my clan."

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, and I dislike traitors and those who abandon their teammates. I have a lot of hobbies. What about you, Blondie?" the masked man asked.

"I'm Naruto, and I like flowers and trees. I dislike squirrels, since they always tried to crack nuts on me, and, considering my purpose in life, I suppose I hate traitors, too. I don't have any hobbies. My sole desire is to defend Konoha, as that is what I was brought to life for."

"Interesting," Kakashi said in a deadpan voice, "Now, can you say that with more exposition and less crazy."

"I beg your pardon?" Naruto asked, confused by what he meant. He thought he had said it rather well. Then, he realized that he had forgotten to mention a possibly important detail.

"I'm a statue brought to life by…" he began, pausing when he almost mentioned Inari, despite what the Hokage had told him prior, "a god for the sole purpose of defending Konoha."

Suddenly, the trio of ninjas in front of him burst out laughing at his statement.

"Sure you are," Sakura laughed, "And I'm the Queen of the Fairies!"

Eyebrows raised, Naruto said, "But, Your Majesty, why are you living as a ninja with such a noticeable hair color?"

"I wasn't serious, baka!" she shouted, suddenly angry. She swung her fist at him, and he was so confused that he let her hit him. His face cracked right down the middle, but Kyuubi healed it, ignoring the other occupants of the area and chiding the statue via their mental link.

'_Why did you let her hit you, kit?'_ it asked, seeming angry at him_, 'She cracked your face. Imagine what would've happened if I wasn't inside of you to fix your face!'_

'I didn't expect her to hit me,' Naruto said in his mindscape, 'I'm her teammate, so shouldn't she have not hit me? Also, it's not like I could have expected her to use a lot of chakra to punch me in the first place.'

'_Not if you annoy her, evidently,_' the fox responded.

"What was that?" Kakashi asked, pointing at Naruto's face, "She had split your face in half, somehow, and yet you managed to not only survive, but fix your face."

Deciding to not let his teammates know about the Kyuubi being inside him until they were comfortable with him, he decided to downplay the fact.

"Can't you guys do that?" he bluffed, trying to make it sound convincing, "At any rate, why did you hit me with a chakra-backed fist in the first place. Hinata didn't do that to me, and we're not even teammates."

"You know the Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked, now feeling curious about the boy he was going to have to deal with.

"Of course, I do," Naruto said, not knowing why the Uchiha asked, "I even met her father this morning. He just kept staring at me as if something about me was wrong, then tried to talk to Hinata, who seemed to be in some sort of rush this morning."

"How did you meet her?" Kakashi asked, surprised that the boy had met the head of the village's most influential clan as well as his heir and daughter.

"When I was created, the god who made me used a bit of Hinata's chakra to get me up and running," he said, not noticing the somewhat confused and exasperated looks on his teammates' faces, "Also, without her prayer, I wouldn't have even been made., since the god who made me was answering her prayer for a defender of Konoha."

"Well, I think that's really the only thing that can be used to explain," Kakashi said, somewhat conflicted between believing his new pupil and thinking him crazy, "Does the Hokage know about your being a statue?"

"Yes," the blond said, "He knows everything about me."

"Well, then," Kakashi stated, "Why don't you all go off on your own together. I need to speak with the Hokage."

"Yes, sir," the statue said as the jounin left to speak with the Hokage. Once the man left, he turned to the other two and said, "He seems to be rather odd. What was that book he was reading?"

"You don't want to know," Sakura said calmly, moving in on Sasuke, who didn't bother moving from his position, too focused on sharpening his kunai to notice her slow approach.

"Well, what should I do now?" Naruto asked, watching Sakura getting within pouncing distance as if he were watching a nature documentary.

"Why don't you just go visit Team Eight?" Sasuke suggested, "The Hyuuga girl is usually nearby with her team, and none of the teams have any training planned today, for some reason."

"That's a good idea, Sasuke Uchiha," Naruto said cheerily, "While I'm gone, you and Sakura Haruno can play whatever game you two are playing right now."

With that, he walked off, not hearing Sasuke ask, "Game? What game?"

He did manage to hear Sasuke shout in surprise while Sakura cheered in triumph.

'So, I think Sakura won…' Naruto mused to himself, trying to find Team Eight, 'I wonder what she gets.'


	4. Chapter 4

A Hero

Chapter 4

I am Christopher Scott: A Gentleman Thief. I am not Masashi Kishimoto. Therefore, I don't own Naruto. I don't recall Tenten having a family mentioned, so I will be going on the assumption that she is an orphan.

Naruto was walking, enjoying nature while trying to find Team Eight, when he saw two green blurs blaze past him. Unsure he wanted to know what they would do to him if they accidentally hit him, since they had managed to crush a tree each, he hurried past. He was walking normally when he saw a human boy and girl. The boy had brown hair and the same eyes as Hinata, though they seemed to be more judgmental than kind. Next to him was a girl with brown hair in two buns and brown eyes who was holding two pointy kunai in her hands. Naruto found himself disturbed by this, as he had acquired many scars in his time as a statue due to many types of weapons. Fortunately, Inari and Kyuubi had fixed the marks, but he still had a dislike of those things.

"You were the intruder in the compound earlier," the boy commented in an even tone, "How did you get in without permission?"

"Hinata let me in, since I had no place to go," Naruto responded cheerily, "What are you two doing out here. If you're exploring, I'd recommend being careful. There are these two blurs moving through here that can destroy things. I got away in case the things reduced me to rubble."

"Don't you mean 'a gooey paste?'" the girl asked.

"No, rubble," Naruto said, "I'm a statue, so, why would I be a gooey paste?"

"You're not a statue," the girl said, "You're clearly a living breathing boy. Where are your parents? Are you lost in the forest? Are you new to the village?"

"No, like I said, I was a statue before I was brought to life," Naruto amended, "Now I'm a living statue. I don't have any parents."

"How could that even be…" the boy began before the girl cut him off.

The girl then said, "Oh. I'm sorry. We didn't know."

"Know what?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Nothing important," she said gently, "We've got to stick up for each other, or who else will?"

"Okay," Naruto said, still rather confused, but pleased that he now had a new friend, "Hey, what are your names?"

"I'm Tenten," she said, smiling kindly, "and he's Neji. As for the two blurs, they wouldn't hurt you. They're just our teammates, Gai-sensei and Lee. What's your name?"

"They're not blurs?" Naruto asked, somewhat relieved that the blurs weren't natural occurrences, "Oh, I'm Naruto."

"No," Neji responded.

"Well, can either of you direct me to where Team Eight is?" Naruto asked, "I've been wandering this forest trying to find them, but I can't seem to come across them."

"Why do you need to know that?" Neji asked.

"Well, Hinata and Kiba are part of that team and they are my friends and my teammates, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha seem to be eager to play some type of game where they act like a predator and prey."

"They're about a quarter mile from here," Tenten said, "We passed them a little bit ago, so they're probably still there. Better hurry, though."

"Thank you, Tenten and Neji," Naruto said cheerily, heading off to meet his friends.

"You're welcome," the kunoichi called to him just as merrily, "And, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm willing to listen."

"What was that about?" Neji asked her after the boy was some good number of yards away.

"He's going to need someone to look after him," she said sagely, "He said he had no parents, and I know that I made up some weird explanations for how I came into the world. We orphans have to stick together. Otherwise, who else do we have to turn to?"

* * *

><p>Eventually, Naruto found Team Eight. Hinata and Kiba were sparring, being watched by another boy in dark sunglasses and dark hair in an odd standing position while his mouth was covered by his coat collar.<p>

"Who are you?" the dark haired boy asked, staring at him as bugs flew out of his coat, swarming the statue.

The beetles landed on Naruto's surface, which was something he was used to. Having been an immobile stone statue originally, he recalled many times that insects and even had perched on him. Some would even fly into him blindly, crashing against him and dying.

"I'm Naruto," he responded cheerily, noticing that the bugs seemed to be getting heavier. Looking at his shoulders, he saw that they were perched on him, taking chakra from him.

"Could you remove your insects from me?" he asked, "They wouldn't like it if they got poisoned by the chakra, and, even if it didn't kill them, I would prefer to not be a statue, again. Also, aren't we members of the same village."

When he said this, he tilted his head down, revealing the forehead protector with the symbol of Konoha carved into it.

"My apologies," the boy said, recalling his insects, "I was unsure if you were an enemy who had somehow managed to get into the village. Please announce yourself when you are present. I would not like to make that mistake again."

"The fault is mine," Naruto responded, "I was so eager to meet with Hinata and Kiba that I didn't recall that humans didn't like to be uniformed of one's intent. I'm Naruto, by the way."

"I am Shino Aburame," the boy responded, "What did you mean when you said 'humans'? Are you not human, yourself?"

"No," Naruto responded simply, "I'm an animate statue."

"Very well," Shino said evenly, "You don't have a reason to make a lie like that, so you must be telling the truth. How did you come to life?"

"Hinata prayed for a hero, and a god brought me to life using a little bit of Hinata's chakra and some other means."

"I see," Shino responded, "Well then, it is rather nice to meet you, Naruto."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Shino Aburame," Naruto responded. Just then, Kiba and Hinata had stopped sparring.

"Hey, stonehead," Kiba joked, "good to see you."

"It is pleasant to see you too, Kiba, as well as you, Hinata," Naruto returned.

"It's nice to see you, too, Naruto-kun," Hinata responded, smiling gently.

"Hey, Shino," Kiba said, "Don't we have that thing to do on the other side of the village with just the pair of us?"

"I do not," Shino began, until he noticed how close the statue had gotten to his female teammate, being close enough to probably count her eyelashes. Finding the situation rather interesting, as Naruto seemed to be showing preferences, specifically one to a certain light-eyed heiress, he quickly amended his statement, saying, "…understand how I could have forgotten. Let's go now. You two can stay here."

With that, the boys left, leaving Hinata and Naruto alone to discuss their day. Despite the lack of a point of familiarity, they were getting along famously.

Eventually, the sun was beginning to set. And so, they walked and talked all the way to the compound while Hinata prepared for a discussion with her father over her new friend.


	5. Chapter 5

A Hero

Chapter 5

I am still not the creator of Naruto, nor am I the owner. Clearly somebody lied to you if you thought I was.

When Naruto and Hinata arrived at the Hyuuga Compound, they were greeted by Hiashi, who stood at the entrance, waiting to hear what his daughter was going to say to explain what was going on with her new friend.

"Hello daughter," Hiashi said, "Now, as you have returned to the compound, I presume you will now be able to inform me as to why your friend is capable of moving with a lack of a chakra network, as well as the reason that he is once more staying at the compound."

"Perhaps this conversation is better held in private," Hinata said softly. Hiashi nodded his head slightly, and began to walk to his study, the two children silently following him.

Once they closed the door to the study behind Naruto, Hiashi once more asked, "So, why does he not have a chakra network?"

"Well, I'm a statue, sir," Naruto said, "I was brought to life by a god when Hinata was praying for aid for the village. The god answered her and made me using a bit of Hinata's chakra to imbue me with life."

"I see," Hiashi said contemplatively, "Which god created you?"

"We'd rather not say," Hinata said. The Hokage told them not to tell people which god Naruto was loyal to, so she was going to follow his advice.

"Ah," Hiashi responded, "So it was Inari."

"What?" she quickly denied, "That's crazy."

"There's only one god that one would not name in Konoha, and that is Inari," Hiashi said, "Now, how do you think we should proceed with this matter, Hinata?"

"Me?" Hinata asked, surprised that she was being called to make the decision rather than her father making it.

"He was brought to life at your behest," Hiashi replied, "As such; it is your duty to monitor his actions if he is to stay in the compound."

"Yes, Father," Hinata responded, rising to leave. She left the table with the statue and began to head to the garden, wanting to take a walk. They walked through the garden for a good amount of time before they stopped and sat on a bench.

"So," Hinata said, trying to strike up a conversation, "How did it go with your teammates? Did you make any new friends?"

"Well, we didn't really do much," Naruto admitted, "When I was going to meet with you and your teammates, I met your cousin Neji and a friendly girl named Tenten, who seemed to know something I didn't. I also saw two green blurs, but it turned out that they weren't even blurs, they were people. Before that I met Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura. We talked for a bit but they didn't believe that I'm a statue. Then, Sakura punched me in the face, cracking it right down the middle, for reasons I don't really understand, so Kyuubi had to heal me. When I was leaving, she seemed to be playing some sort of pouncing game with Sasuke..."

"She did what?" Hinata interrupted blankly.

"She was playing some sort of pouncing game with Sasuke," he said, not realizing the point she wanted repeated, "When I had left, I heard Sasuke scream, letting me know she had won."

"Um," she hesitantly said, "If they play that again, don't ask to play too."

"Why not?" he asked, "It sounded like an interesting game."

"Those two play the 'game' because they are in love," she responded. It wouldn't do for Naruto to accidentally do something to irritate his teammates.

"Oh," Naruto responded, seeming slightly confused.

The pair was silent for a while, Hinata still thinking of having a talk with Sakura about breaking a certain statue's face. Suddenly, Naruto broke the silence, asking, "Hinata, what's love?"

Hinata was taken aback by the question, before she recalled that he was a statue. It would make sense that he didn't understand the concept of love.

"Well," she began, "It's an emotional attachment that can never truly be severed. It pushes us to new heights just to protect the ones we love. They are our most precious of precious people and we try to help them with their hopes and dreams. Love is boundless and is the purest emotion one can feel. Other than that, it's hard to describe. You have to feel it to understand it."

"That sounds so wonderful. I hope I can feel that before I get turned back to stone," Naruto commented.

"'Back to stone?'" Hinata asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I'm designed to be a hero," he responded dully, "Once I've done some sort of important heroic deed, I get zapped back into a statue. What use is a hero once there is no need for one? When I save Konoha from some sort of major threat, I'm not going to be around anymore."

"That's not fair!" Hinata shouted as she leapt from her seat to stand directly in front of her friend, her rage carrying her voice farther than it usually went, "You're a person, so you deserve to live as one."

"I'll be fine," Naruto said unconvincingly, "I'm just a statue, after all."

"No you're not," she answered sharply, "You're a person and, so help me, you are going to live as much life as you can! Maybe if you actually have something to live for, the gods will let you actually live."

"O-okay," Naruto stammered, unsure of how to respond, "Where do we start?"

Hinata paused for a moment. She didn't really know how to teach people to live life, so how _were_ they going to go about this?

"We'll make it up as we go along," she said calmly, offering him her hand.

"Okay," Naruto said cheerfully. He took her hand and the pair proceeded to walk back to the mansion. A genuine smile grew on Naruto's face as the girl led him back. Here was someone who was willing to help him stay alive beyond what they had him created for. It was a brand new day for the statue and the heiress. Who knew what the future would hold. All he knew was that with Hinata here to help him, he felt that he could do anything.

"Hey, Hinata," he called softly.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" she responded gently.

"Thank you for helping me with this," he said.


	6. Chapter 6

A Hero

Chapter 6

Sorry to take so long to post a new chapter. I still don't own Naruto. Trust me. I doubt that I ever will. Oh well.

Naruto woke up underneath the plum tree in the garden yet again. However, this time, he woke up with a small girl with dark brown hair and lavender eyes climbing on him, probably trying to get to the fruit above him.

"Aah!" she cried, feeling him move beneath her, "It's alive!"

With that, she jumped down from his head and glared at him with the glare of a little girl who just saw something that made no sense.

"Who are you?" she asked, the veins around her eyes bulging as she got into a fighting stance.

"I'm the one who gets climbed on and you're the one who's angry?" he asked, confused.

"I live here, statue-person!" she responded, "Who are you and how did you suddenly get color?"

"'Suddenly get color?'" he asked, confused. After a moment's pause, he had a realization and said, "Oh! I get it. It takes chakra to keep me in color. I guess that if I'm sleeping, I don't have color."

"What?" the little girl asked, clearly confused by what he just said.

"I'm a statue," he explained, "A god brought me to life when Hinata prayed for a hero."

"Oh," the little girl responded, believing him with the conviction of a child, "Onee-chan brought you to life?"

"Partly," Naruto responded, kneeling so that they were looking eye to eye, "My name is Naruto. What's your name?"

"I'm Hanabi," she answered proudly, "One day I'm going to be the greatest ninja Konoha has ever seen."

"I believe it," he replied, smiling at the little girl, "But, have you had your breakfast? According to Hinata, it's very important for people to have it. Otherwise, they could be tired for the rest of the day."

Once Naruto said this, the little girl took off like a shot. Naruto waited for a moment before deciding to meet with his teammates again. Perhaps this time, they could actually do something with him that didn't involve cracking his face in half.

* * *

><p>"So. Let me get this straight," Naruto said, trying to fit his mind around what was about to happen, "you two are going to attack me and I have to defend myself."<p>

"That's about it. We just want to see just how good you are," Sasuke said simply, "Now, you might want to start now."

When the other boy told him this, Naruto turned and leapt to his right, as Sakura came rushing to where he had just been standing. Suddenly, a fireball flew past him. Turning around, he saw Sasuke standing where the fireball came from.

"I don't believe this is fair," Naruto commented, blocking another punch from Sakura, "A united team is better at fighting than an individual."

"Sometimes you can't have a team to back you up," Sakura remarked, managing to strike his left leg, "You need to know just how to fight on your own. Manipulate the situation to your advantage."

"How can I do that?" he asked, jumping back to regain his balance and evade another fireball.

"Get creative," Sasuke responded, throwing a few kunai at Naruto.

Naruto evaded more, trying to think, when he decided to try one of the jutsus he knew. Summoning two clones, he began leaping in the air, trying to mix up the positions of himself and the clones. Unsurprisingly, Sasuke managed to take out the clones easily, leaving the real Naruto standing. Sakura, standing nearby, swung at the statue as Sasuke sent another fireball at him. Suddenly, Naruto did the unexpected.

He ducked.

The moment he did, he pulled Sakura down before she was hit by the fireball that was still flying. Turning around so her back faced him, he wrapped his arms into hers, preventing her from swinging, and began to walk towards Sasuke, using her as a shield. She tried to stomp on his feet but he luckily evaded her steps. Suddenly, Sasuke vanished, leaving only a kunai where he had stood. Naruto summoned a shadow clone to face behind him, and waited for Sasuke to show himself. Reaching into Sakura's kunai pouch, he pulled out a kunai and held it up to her throat as the vision of the shadow clone's dying moment revealed that Sasuke was two steps behind him.

"So, stalemate," Sasuke remarked, smirking, though the statue couldn't see it.

"Beginner's luck," Naruto threw back, turning to face Sasuke before he pushed Sakura away from him.

"Either way, you managed to get us into stalemate," Sakura responded, taking her kunai from his hand and placing it back in her bag, "In our line of work, as long as you win, you've won, even if you were just lucky."

"I recall hearing someone say that back when I was a statue," Naruto responded.

"You were never a statue," Sakura stated, mildly irritated.

"Yes, I was," he returned.

"Prove it," she replied.

"How old are you?" he asked, turning to both of them.

"16," they both responded.

"Ten years ago, I was still a statue," he said, "One day, a six-year-old little girl with pink hair was running through the forest. She was very scared. She turned and threw a kunai at a rustling sound by a nearby statue. It was a six-year-old boy with black hair. He stepped to the side, causing the kunai to hit the statue, instead."

Sakura and Sasuke both looked at him in surprise, but he continued, "The boy asked her 'Why are you running?'

"The girl responded with 'I broke my mother's favorite vase. She's going to be so mad!'

"The boy promised to help her however he could, so they got into a conversation about who they were and they wanted out of life. Eventually, a bond formed between the two, with nobody to bear witness except the statue with the kunai embedded in its chest. That was me. You two carved your initials onto my chest with another kunai. To be honest, from my perspective, it was rather creepy. Of course, I was just a statue, so you were free to carve whatever you wanted. I'm just glad you only put 'S+S' on me rather than all the tacky things that people had carved into the trees."

"What happened to the kunai, then?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide.

"It was still embedded in my chest," Naruto responded, "Eventually two Anbu arrived and found it. They removed it, but the blade still left the scar in the rock, until I was brought to life, removing all chips and cracks to my flesh. I'm sorry that it hadn't stayed. You had very nice penmanship, Sakura Haruno."

"Thank you?" Sakura replied confusedly.

"I suppose that you must have been that statue," Sasuke commented, "Sakura was skilled at detecting chakra, even then, and didn't sense you."

"I'm glad you finally believe me," Naruto responded, "When do you think our sensei will get here?"

"I don't know," Sakura commented, "Usually he gets here very late, when he bothers to show up."

"Why do we come earlier than him if he will not give us the courtesy of being on time?" Naruto asked.

"We get to spend time together, and get used to each other's presence so that we don't kill you," Sasuke answered, smirking at the statue as he patted him on the back awkwardly.

"You're a member of our team, like it or not," Sakura added, smiling at the boy, "So it's only fair that you have to get to know us."

"I understand," Naruto responded, preparing to ask about the hunting game, when he recalled Hinata telling him not to get involved with it.

"Well, that about sums it up for today," Sakura said, "He usually arrives at this time."

"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi said, as if arriving on cue, "I was kidnapped by a crazy snake worshiper, the clutches of whom I just escaped from. Today, we are going to work on chakra control. You will try to climb a tree just by walking along the bark."

* * *

><p>It had been brutal, and his attempts lasted until late in the afternoon, but, thanks to the help of his teammates and sensei, Naruto made it to the top. Sakura had made it first, followed by Sasuke, but for Naruto, lacking any chakra network, it had been quite a bit of work. He kept being launched away from the tree, as he kept giving large amounts of chakra to the task. He hadn't given up, though, and so, here he sat, by his teammates, in the trees.<p>

"Well," Kakashi said, appearing in a whirl of leaves right before them, "That was very good. Why don't you three take the rest of the day off, see the rest of the village?"

"I'm not very familiar with hearing requests like that, but was that you telling us to 'get lost?'" Naruto asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Hey, why don't you take him to the Ichiraku Ramen stand?" Kakashi suddenly asked Sasuke, "I think he'd love it there."

"Yes sir," Sasuke asked, understanding that the man was trying to get rid of them as quickly as possible. The poor genin would never have seen what happened at the ramen stand coming.

* * *

><p>"That's already twenty bowls," Teuchi, owner of Ichiraku Ramen said, surprised by the amount the blond boy in orange ate yet another bowl of ramen.<p>

"Alright, Naruto," Sasuke, the one having to pay for the statue's meal, said, "You've had enough sodium for the day."

"Okay, Sasuke," the blond responded, rising from his seat. As the pair left the stand, Naruto turned to Sasuke and said, "I apologize if I consumed more than the amount you were willing to pay for. I have never tried food before, and this 'ramen' was very delicious."

"It's okay," Sakura said, speaking up for the Uchiha, "He just didn't want to go into debt to the place."

"I understand," Naruto responded, "Do you two wish to be left alone to do the things that 'couples' do together, whatever that means?"

At this, both Sasuke and Sakura went a little red in the cheeks and merely nodded quietly. As such, Naruto turned and left, planning on finding Hinata once more, as the sun was setting.

When he found her, she was resting with her teammates in the park. Naruto silently watched her, not really understanding the feeling of a need to stare. Still, he remembered his meeting with Shino Aburame, and not wanting to repeat such a mistake, he greeted them loudly.

"Hello, Naruto," Shino responded, while Kiba waved lazily at the boy, clearly comfortable. Hinata, meanwhile, had evidently passed out earlier, as she had not greeted him and was sound asleep.

"She fell asleep a few hours after we stopped training," Kiba remarked, "She was so relaxed that we didn't bother waking her."

"I understand," Naruto responded, nodding his head. Suddenly, he lifted Hinata onto his back and told the two boys, "I am unsure if she has a curfew, but I believe that it would be a good idea to take her back to the Hyuuga Estate."

"It would make sense for you to do that, provided you are permitted to enter the compound," Shino responded.

"I think they will permit me," Naruto responded, "They seem to not mind the fact that I live in the garden, after all."

"Alright, makes sense to me," Kiba replied simply, "See you, Naruto."

Once the statue had left with the heiress, Kiba turned to Shino and said, "12 ryo says he makes the first move."

"Hinata is more able to understand her own emotions than he is his," Shino replied, "I believe that the first move will be hers and he will not even realize that she was flirting. I will take your wager."


	7. Chapter 7

A Hero

Chapter 7

Sorry to take so long. I wanted this chapter to be worth reading, so it took a while.

I still don't own Naruto in any way, shape, form, or… Actually I think that's the only way to own things. Odd. Oh, well. On with the story.

Hinata Hyuuga woke up later that evening, lying down on her bed in the clothes she had sparred in. At first, she was confused, but decided not to ponder it too hard, as she was probably just brought back to the compound. Realizing that dinner must be coming soon, she made her way to the dining hall, when she came across an interesting sight in the training room.

There was Hanabi, Byakugan activated, striking at Naruto with the Gentle Fist technique, who merely took each strike, a cheery smile on his face. Hanabi, on the other hand, had an expression of confusion and frustration on hers. Naruto suddenly stood straight and saw Hinata standing there, and his grin broadened. Hanabi turned to see what he was looking at and saw Hinata. Hanabi ran directly in front of Hinata and, pointing at Naruto, shouted, "He's cheating!"

"How is he cheating, Hanabi?" Hinata asked gently.

"He's not falling down," the younger girl responded, pouting. She had been at this for a while, and he kept insisting that he wasn't cheating, even though those moves should have gotten him on the ground by now.

"I've already told her that I don't have a chakra network, so there are no points that she can strike," the statue remarked to Hinata, still smiling at the whole situation.

"He keeps saying that, but I think he's cheating by using a lot of chakra from something in his coat that pushes it deeper and hides it," Hanabi whispered to her sister conspiratorially.

"No, he actually has no points to strike," Hinata said, "He's a statue, remember. It makes him slightly different, even though he's a normal person otherwise."

"Oh," Hanabi said. Hinata had told her this, so, now she knew that it was true.

Just then, Neji walked in with Tenten, moving as quietly as they could into the training room. So determined to not be disturbed, they didn't see the now silent trio in said room until Naruto said, "Hello, Tenten and Neji. I am glad to see you again."

"Oh, hello, Naruto," Tenten said absently, until it hit her that there were people in there. She turned to see a blank-faced Neji, equally surprised, if his slightly tightened grip on her hand was to be noticed.

"Hello, Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama, Naruto," he greeted quietly, "We did not expect to see this training room occupied at this time."

"Sorry," Hinata said, her face red for reasons that Naruto couldn't figure out, "We will just go, now."

"But, why?" Hanabi asked, grinning at a reddening Neji and Tenten like a cat who found a canary with a broken wing, "I want to see Neji and Tenten spar."

"No," Hinata said, in a tone that brooked no arguments, "They want to train privately, since they don't want anyone to try to copy their techniques."

"That makes sense," Naruto chimed in, oblivious as to the situation's more... amusing qualities, "Well, have fun sparring, Neji and Tenten."

* * *

><p>Eventually, it came time for dinner. Naruto walked with Hinata and Hanabi to the dining room, and stopped outside the doorway, turning to face the opposite wall.<p>

"Naruto-kun, come on," Hinata said, lightly tugging on the boy's hand.

"But, I don't need to eat," he responded blankly, not really thinking of a reason to eat.

"I…We'd enjoy your company," she answered, speaking quickly to not let him notice her slip, "You are a good friend and I enjoy having someone who I can talk to outside of my teammates."

"Okay," Naruto answered cheerfully, "I will eat with you if you wish for me to."

"Come on!" Hanabi shouted, her head popping out of the doorway, "Father wants us to get to the table to eat at six, and you know that he doesn't like tardiness."

With that, Hinata sudden tugged Naruto as quickly as she could, almost dragging the boy.

Once they were seated, the clock in the middle of the dining room struck the first bell of six o' clock. To Naruto's surprise, Neji and Hinata's father were already seated. Hanabi evidently wasn't joking about the punctuality.

* * *

><p>After dinner, everybody went their separate ways, Hanabi following Neji, asking him all manners of questions about his "secret relationship with Tenten," Hiashi walking away, heading to his study, and Hinata and Naruto heading to the garden to take a walk.<p>

"You know," Naruto suddenly said, pointing at the willow tree, "I like that tree. It reminds me of the willow that protected me until it fell last year. I was so sad to see it fall, but that's what always happened to trees."

"How far back does your memory go?" Hinata asked, "You often reference points in time that happened when you were still a statue. Didn't you only come to life because Inari brought you to life?"

"I wish," Naruto chuckled somewhat dryly, "From what my memories tell me, I was just the most recent soul in this stone. It seems that the Kami decided that they all wanted a soul in reserve to be part of a statue in some of the Hidden Villages. Inari took Konoha, and usually used Kyuubi to power up the statue. Other villages have their own. Sand, for example, has Hachiman watching them, and he uses Shukaku, the tanuki. I'm not even the only soul to have lived in this statue, if the Kyuubi is to be believed. There were others. Minato Namikaze was definitely one of these lives. He was the one that came out before me. Even ran on the same kitsune in me at the moment. I came to life about 16 years ago, unable to move, but able to see and hear anything that came near. I only got able to actually able to live a life when you prayed to Inari. Thank you for that. I can't believe that I actually lived to be free. We statues rarely get summoned, so we don't always get released to move around. I am so glad to be able to live. If I didn't, I wouldn't have tasted ramen, seen such a beautiful garden, or gotten to meet you, so, again, thank you."

Hinata, meanwhile, was silent with surprise, horror, and rage. She could not believe that such an existence was possible. It seemed so cruel. She grabbed Naruto's hand protectively, almost worried that he would suddenly be forced to be merely a statue again. It wasn't fair. If she hadn't prayed for a hero, Naruto would have spent more years being a simple statue before his spirit died and a new one took his place. How could the Kami do that?

"Um, Hinata?" Naruto asked, noticing her angered expression and her prolonged silence, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, not releasing her grip on the statue's hand, "I just can't believe that they would be as cruel as that; making a soul have to endure such a painful fate as being aware of existing without being able to do anything but watch as the world passes it by."

"It's alright, Hinata," Naruto responded gently, "I'm just a statue. I don't really matter outside of whatever purpose I have been assigned. I'm basically a decoration with a personality."

"No," Hinata said, moving so that she was staring directly into his eyes, "You are a person, Naruto-kun, a person who still has a life to live, and dreams to have, despite whatever the Kami say. You need to start living. You are a good person, who is clever, loyal, strong, and brave."

"What makes you say I'm brave?" he asked, "I've never gone into battle to save the village and turn to stone, like Minato. I've never even been in a fight."

"What do you expect to happen to you?" she asked simply, "If you get into a major battle what do you intend to do?"

"I will fight with my last breath to defend the village, and will turn back to stone and die at the hour my task is complete," he responded, "But that is just what I was created to do. That has nothing to do with courage. I solely exist to defend Konoha and its citizens. To do otherwise would make no sense, as I can't fight what is an inevitability."

"It's only inevitable if you make it so," she responded, "You also willingly made friends, despite the fact that it serves no purpose. You made that connection, meaning that, on some level, you plan on staying alive for a while. In other words, you're defying your 'fate' and to a lesser extent the Kami, themselves when you could have just given up."

When the dark haired girl said this, the boy's eyes widened with surprise before suddenly glowing with joy. He smiled a genuine smile and took Hinata's other hand in his own.

"Thank you," he said, his eyes filled with a joyous light as he accepted the fact she had just presented, "Thank you so much."

"For what?" she asked, confusion slightly etching her delicate face.

"You helped me so much," he responded, "I can do anything. I will still protect this village, but because I don't want my friends to die like the trees, not because I was brought to life to protect it."

Suddenly, much to the girl's surprise, Naruto hugged her tightly; yet again glad to have her by his side. He would learn what it was like to be a real person, rather than a simple tool. For the first time ever, Naruto felt free.


	8. Chapter 8

A Hero

Chapter 8

Sorry for the long delay, again, I had a bit of writer's block for fanfiction.

I still don't own Naruto. I do own a good number of books, comics, and films of varying subjects that I enjoy, though, so, you win some, you lose some, I suppose.

"Good morning, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno," Naruto said as he approached the training grounds that morning, "What are we doing today?"

"Well, we're kind of wondering what exactly is giving you chakra, since you said that Hinata gave you some of your chakra," Sakura stated matter-of-factly.

Naruto silently gulped to himself. He hadn't expected them to ask, but he supposed it was inevitable. The moment they accepted he was a statue, they would begin questioning him, of that he had been certain. He just didn't expect THAT question to be asked so soon.

"I'm not sure how to tell you this," he began, "No matter what happens, do you promise not to hate me?"

"Of course," Sasuke said simply, looking the statue directly in the eyes.

"We're your teammates, Naruto," Sakura interjected, "No matter what happens, we'll stand by you. You're one of us."

"Well, you see," Naruto began cautiously, "it has to go back to the founding of the villages, if I'm going to explain it to you," he commented seriously, "When the villages were created after the Sage of the Six Paths defeated the Juubi, the Kami decided to divide up both the villages and the fragments of the Juubi amongst themselves. Each wanted a piece of the Juubi for their own, and each wanted a village to claim as their own territory. Eventually different Kami got their own piece of the pie, so to speak."

Naruto paused for a moment, preparing himself for the confession to his teammates.

'_Keep going, Kit,'_ Kyuubi encouraged,_ 'You're doing well.'_

"Of the Kami, the one who got Konoha was Inari, and Inari's choice in demon was…"

"The Kyuubi," Kakashi said, walking up to the trio, "Inari uses foxes, so it could only be Kyuubi."

Naruto edged away from the team, worried about how they would react to that news. Looking at their faces carefully, he saw no malice towards him in any of them.

"Well, that was an interesting story," Sakura said, being the first to speak, "Though I doubt the rest of the villagers would enjoy it as much."

"They probably would not," Sasuke said, his face impassive, "Perhaps it would be best if they didn't hear it."

"That probably would be for the best," Kakashi stated, betraying no emotion.

"So, you aren't mad at me?" Naruto asked cautiously, edging closer to the others once more.

"Of course not, baka," Sakura said cheerily, "Why would we be. You're you, and the Kyuubi's the Kyuubi."

"Also, if the Kyuubi is part of the reason you exist, then it can't be all bad," Sasuke added.

"Still," Kakashi commented, "You probably shouldn't tell the villagers about your tenant. They're still a bit angry with him over something that happened years ago."

'_It wasn't my fault that they were in the way when I was marching the rest of the kitsune,'_ Kyuubi said to Naruto, _'How was I to know that a village had been formed in that path when we did the centennial race?'_

"At any rate," Sakura said, "You're pretty much family to us, so why would we judge you?"

With that, Naruto smiled, his fears subsided. His team accepted him, even though he had the Kyuubi within him. Things were looking up already. What could possibly go wrong, today?

"We've got a mission," Kakashi said, "We need to find and capture Tora the cat, and return him to the daimyo's wife."

* * *

><p>It was a long, arduous process, but they had managed to corner the cat. Well, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi had. Naruto was nowhere to be found, probably trying to find the cat elsewhere in the forest, as they had all been separated in the forest. At any rate, Tora was seated in the lap of a statue with spiked hair and whiskers that was holding its hands straight out, palms down.<p>

Had the trio been less occupied with capturing the evil cat, they would have noticed similarities between the statue and someone they knew. But, as it was, they had been chasing it for a while, so they paid the statue little mind.

At least, they did, until it suddenly grabbed Tora. To their mutual surprise, the statue suddenly gained color, turning into their teammate. If there was even a sliver of doubt that Naruto was a statue in any of their minds, it was gone at that moment.

Meanwhile, in his arms, the cat was clawing to no avail, as the inability for cat's claws to make significant damage in stone made Tora's efforts barely noticeable to the statue holding it. Pleased with the day's efforts, Kakashi led the team to the daimyo's home, in a procession. The cat from hell had a bell attached to its collar, making it easier to track in the future.

Once they got to the Hokage tower after having delivered the cat, they went to his office in order to give an oral report of what happened.

"Team 7," Sarutobi said, "You're back early. I trust you caught Tora."

"We did Lord Hokage," Kakashi stated.

"It's only been an hour," Sarutobi responded, "That must be a record. What exactly happened?"

Kakashi explained the situation in detail, and the other three verified his story. After this was done with, they were given their pay and were dismissed.

* * *

><p>"If we ever have to chase that <em><strong>THING<strong>_ again, I'll make sure it won't run again. First I'll cut off." Sakura stated, before her face went rather blank. Then, she seemed to change in posture and said, "But that was such a cute cat! I hope we get to see it again sometime."

"But, you just…" Naruto said, before he was suddenly silenced by Sasuke's hand over his mouth. Looking to his brunette teammate, he saw Kakashi beside him, giving a vague gesture, pointing at his own head, then twirling his finger slightly. Whatever it meant, Sakura evidently did not like it, as she struck Kakashi when he closed his eye in what Naruto presumed was some sort of smile. Much to the statue's surprise, his sensei went flying through the air.

"Um… Why did you send Kakashi-sensei into the sky?" Naruto asked, confused by the situation.

"Because he called me crazy even though…" Sakura began before pausing. Just then she thought about what she had just done. Looking at her remaining teammates, she saw that one was Naruto, and the other was Sasuke. Suddenly, she realized just who she had hit. That was Kakashi-sensei . He was the one who did the training for her team. He was the one who decided who did what. He was one of the most dangerous of the jounin in Konoha. Suddenly, she felt very afraid.

"He's coming back down…" Naruto noted.

"I think you should run," Sasuke said, "We'll cover for you."

When he said that, Naruto created a shadow clone and it transformed into Sakura. Right when Sakura had run so fast that she was already halfway across the village, Kakashi landed, forming a crater in the ground.

"Sakura…" he growled, rising off the ground.

"Heh heh, yes, Kakashi-sensei?" the fake Sakura said, faking a nervous laugh.

"Run."

With that, the clone ran in the opposite direction as Sakura, who was probably now hiding out in her house, getting chased by a very angry jounin.

"That will not be an enjoyable experience to relive from the clone's perspective," Naruto said.

"Hn. Think of it as a teamwork exercise?" Sasuke suggested.

"Well, I suppose that I'm going to be experiencing a very unenjoyable teamwork exercise, then," Naruto commented.


	9. Chapter 9

A Hero

Chapter 9

I still don't own Naruto. I think that they just haven't gotten my basket with a single cookie in it. Sorry for such a long delay. I haven't been able to come up with something to put for this story for a while, now.

Naruto awoke in the same spot as usual, feeling a strange tugging on his arm. Opening his eyes, he saw that Hanabi was trying to move him for some reason.

"Good morning?" he commented, trying to puzzle out why the younger Hyuuga heiress was pulling on him.

"Naruto!" Hanabi shouted, "You're awake? Blast! I mean, I wasn't going to put you in Onee-chan's room while you were both sleeping as part of a big prank!"

Naruto was silent for a moment, before responding to her strange denial, "Okay, Hanabi. I believe you. Still, if you weren't doing that one specific thing, what were you doing?"

Hanabi looked at him, surprised to find him so gullible. Suddenly, a new plan formed in her devious little mind, causing a mischievous smirk to form on her face.

"Oh, I was just waking you up to go talk to Onee-chan," she lied, "She wanted to talk to you first thing this morning. She's in her room as we speak."

"Oh," Naruto said obliviously, "Thank you for telling me, Hanabi."

'That'll get Onee-chan to freak out when she wakes up and get him good,' she thought. Now, she, Hanabi, could have her revenge on Naruto for cheating during the spar. Keeping an amazingly stealthy amount of distance between herself and Naruto, she followed secretly. Nothing could possibly ruin this brilliant plan.

"Oh, hi, Hinata," Naruto said to the heiress as she began walking out of her room.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," Hinata responded, "is there anything that you need?"

"Um, no…" Naruto said, trying to figure out if he needed anything, "Hanabi told me that you needed to talk to me in your room, so I came here, with her following a bit behind me."

"Oh, I see," Hinata said, activating her Byakugan to find her little sister, who was hiding behind a sculpture of a lion in the hallway.

'Uh-oh,' Hanabi thought, 'Onee-chan is going to find me! Then, she'll…'

"Hello, Hanabi-imouto," Hinata said sweetly with a somewhat predatory smile on her face as she rounded the statue to get face to face with her sister, "So, what is this I hear about me calling Naruto-kun to my room?"

"Um…" Hanabi began, trying to save herself, "I don't know…?"

Hinata's smile got even more dangerous, making Naruto, who was watching the sisters' "talk", feel slightly frightened, yet also caused an abnormal heating of his cheeks and a strange feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with Kyuubi, as it was rather nice, while when it involved the Kyuubi, it felt kind of weird in a different, unnatural way.

Feeling as if he should run away, Naruto looked from one sister to the other, and decided to act on that impulse. As he fled, he thought he saw Hinata with a wall of fire behind her as she loomed over her little sister.

"Good morning, Naruto," Neji said as the orphan who thought he was a statue rushed past him and curled up in a fetal position in the corner of the dining room. This would not do. Hiashi-sama would not take the presence of a frightened boy in the dining room well at all. Then, Neji would be blamed for the problem, because even though Naruto was Hinata-sama's charge, Hinata-sama was Neji's responsibility.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" he asked, before Hinata entered the room, friendly as ever, followed by a frightened-looking Hanabi, who walked up to the strange boy and, after casting a fearful glance at Hinata, said, "I'm sorry for lying to you about Onee-chan wanting to speak to you. I'll never ever do it again."

"Good morning, Neji-nii-san," Hinata called cheerily, "Has Father not woken yet?"

"Um, not that I am aware of, Hinata-sama," Neji answered quickly. He wasn't sure what caused Hanabi to look to the gentler sister with such terror, but he was certain he wanted no part of it. Perhaps he should challenge Lee or Tenten to a spar later. If he won, at least his mind would be away from this strange occurrence, and if Lee got in even one good hit or the hilt of any of Tenten's weapons just happened to hit his head hard enough, it might make him forget whatever this was had ever happened. Either way, he was good with this plan. Now, if he could just get through breakfast. Fortunately, Naruto had just gotten out of his fetal position and had now taken his now customary position by Hinata's side. Well, at least one problem was out of the way. Then, Hiashi-sama entered the room, ready to eat his breakfast and begin his day.

Fortunately, it was a peaceful breakfast, with no real cause for alarm. Naruto sighed in relief as he left. Heading toward his team's training ground; he paused as he saw the two green blurs headed his way. Forgetting Tenten's words about what the blurs were, and only remembering what they did to the tree, he began running from them, as he didn't want to have any part of him break off this early in the day. Or at all, really, but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

Unfortunately, one of the blurs managed to get in front of him, while it released what sounded like a dangerous battle cry that sounded strangely like the word "youth."

At any rate, the blur stopped in front of him, and seemed to be a large man in green spandex unitard with a green flak jacket over it. Turning, Naruto saw the other blur stop as well, showing itself to be a boy dressed in the same spandex unitard, but without the flak jacket.

"What are you?" Naruto asked, still trying to puzzle out who they were, Tenten's comment completely lost from his mind.

"I am Konoha's Green Beast, Maito Gai, and this is my apprentice, Rock Lee" the man said, "No doubt you have heard of us."

Still not remembering Tenten's naming, Naruto replied, "Actually, I have never heard of either of you before. Begging your pardons, but I do have to get to my teammates before Kakashi-sensei gets there."

"You are Kakashi's student, yet you have never heard of me?" Gai asked in surprise, "How unyouthful of my Eternal Rival to not tell his students of me."

"Don't worry, Gai-sensei," Lee said, "We will teach this boy all about you, and the joys of youth!"

Frightened, Naruto began to try to figure out a means of escape.

'_Run? No, they could easily catch me. Distract them? With what? Kill them? Even if I was fast enough, they have Leaf forehead protectors, so that would be bad.'_

As Naruto thought this, the two spandex clad people were lecturing him on 'the joys of youth.' After a few moments, Lee asked him "Don't you agree, stranger?"

"Hm?" Naruto asked, having just noticed that they were looking at him, "Did you say something?"

"No!" the pair cried dramatically, "Darn you Kakashi for already infecting this child with your unyouthfulness and hip behavior!"

"We must go and run 9,001 laps around the village in order to remove the feeling of unyouthfulness that Kakashi's student has caused!" Gai shouted.

"Before we leave, Stranger-san, what is your name?" Lee asked in a slightly calmer voice.

"My name is Naruto," Naruto responded.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto-san," Lee cheered as he began to follow his sensei, "Remember; you must work hard to achieve your dream!"

"Well, thanks for getting them out of our hair for the time being," Tenten said, "They were planning on forcing us into the same sort of spandex suits they were wearing."

"That would have not been a pleasurable experience," Neji added, "Hello, Naruto."

"Hello, Tenten and Neji. It is nice to see you two," he replied, "I would enjoy talking to you more, but I must meet with my teammates. I think that they would grind me to dust if I did not arrive on time."

"Well, then don't let us keep you here," Tenten said cheerfully, "Run quickly, and you could still get there in time."

"Thank you very much," he said as he began to run, "Goodbye, Tenten and Neji!"

Once the statue was a good distance away, Neji turned to Tenten and said, "Tenten, would you like to have an intense sparring session in which neither of us will hold back unless the other is knocked unconscious?"

"You always know just the right words to sweep a girl off her feet," Tenten smiled, pulling out her scrolls.


	10. Chapter 10

A Hero

Chapter 10

I own nothing, other than the concept which is the premise of this work of fanfiction.

Naruto arrived at his team's training grounds just before he could be deemed late by his teammates.

"You just barely made it, Naruto," Sakura grinned as she and Sasuke rose to greet their stone teammate.

"If you were any later," Sasuke commented, "We would have hunted you down to drag you here."

"I wonder how Kakashi-sensei would have reacted to such a situation," Naruto mused, "Would he have been upset to see that his team was at the training ground later than he was."

Suddenly, Sasuke got a smirk across his face. Moving closer to his teammates, he said, "Why don't we find out."

* * *

><p>It took quite a bit to surprise Kakashi. Despite almost always having his nose buried in his favorite book series, he was quite an observant ninja. The most surprising thing that had happened to him was when Sakura had actually gotten the nerve to hit him. This may have been a close second.<p>

He had arrived at his team's training ground at his usual time, already beginning his explanation of how bizarre his day was turning out to be, a situation that was usually because of Anko abducting him, but he was surprised to see that his students were not there. Looking up, he saw that it was in fact the correct training ground, but they were not anywhere to be found. Could his clock have been set early by Anko when she was over last time?

Suddenly, a loud explosion resounded from Team 8's training field. Concerned, he ran to the area, hoping that his team was uninvolved.

Much to his displeasure, he found that his team was currently involved in what appeared to be a rigorous sparring session with Team 8. The Hyuuga heiress seemed to be in some sort of Taijutsu match with Sakura, neither of whom seemed to be gaining the upper hand, countering each other's style well. A bit further away, Sasuke seemed to be in a match with the Inuzuka boy, using only clan jutsu. While Sasuke had the boy and his canine companion on the defensive, that seemed to be where the pair were excelled.

Meanwhile, the Aburame boy seemed to be sprawled out on the ground with a few of his insects also on the ground as he muttered, "Note to self: don't do that again."

With that thought given sound, the boy passed out as if he overexerted himself. Kakashi didn't give the boy much thought, as he was currently looking for the missing statue. Unfortunately, before he could keep going, he heard a voice he was afraid of hearing behind him saying, "Just the man I wanted to see."

Terrified, Kakashi slowly turned around, looking at the ground as Kurenai glared, "Do you mind telling me what is going on? Your team came over for a spar, and so my team accepted, since they could use the practice. Then, imagine my surprise when your orange student and Shino agree to spar with one another, since their teammates wished to spar with each other to see how each style held up against another."

"Then what happened?" Kakashi asked, still keeping his eyes away from the potential mind-crusher.

"Well," Kurenai exasperatedly began, "It started off as an ordinary spar, when Shino asked your boy how much chakra he used to 'keep in color.' Evidently understanding that statement, he said he didn't know, so they decided to test it. Shino kept sending wave upon wave of beetle, until he suddenly collapsed, saying something along the lines of 'too much' as an explosion of chakra burst between the two boys, coming from those beetles currently twitching on the ground. Meanwhile, your boy is there, completely grey and standing like he can't move at all. I tap him on the shoulder to get him to move, but I then feel like my hand's been zapped by a burst of electricity."

"Ah," Kakashi said, not trusting the mildly calm tone in his colleague's voice enough to look up just yet, "Where is he now?"

"If you would look up, you'd know," she replied. Kakashi did, attempting to avoid her eye at the same time. Naruto was frozen in his statue form as Kurenai stood next to him.

"So, what is your explanation for this?" she pressed, glaring at the Sharingan wielder.

"Well, you see, and I'm not making this up, Naruto's kind of a statue brought to life by Hinata and… an unknown god," he responded.

"You expect me to believe…" Kurenai began before being interrupted by the sound of Naruto coughing.

"HI, Kakashi-sensei," the boy said, "I'm not feeling that well at the moment, so I'm just pulling in some ambient chakra, since my power source doesn't want to fix that. I should be fine in a moment."

"Okay," Kakashi said, regaining his calm demeanor, "Team 7!"

With that, the other students ceased their spars, bruised, bitten and burned in some cases, and walked over to their instructors. Shino promptly got up with the beetles on the ground flying groggily back into his coat.

"Now, I am dismissing my team for the day, as I don't think that Naruto could do very well for a couple of hours given his current condition," Kakashi stated.

"I am dismissing Team 8 as well, due to similar concerns involving Shino," Kurenai added.

"Let's agree to never do that again," said a wobbling Shino.

"Agreed," said Naruto, whose colors were slightly faded. That experiment too quite a bit out of the two boys.

"Well," Kiba said, bracing Shino on his shoulder, "He and I need to attend to some business on the other side of town."

"Ah, yes," Shino murmured, "That thing at the place…"

"Well, Sakura and I also have to be elsewhere," Sasuke said, realizing what the Hyuuga's two teammates were trying to do.

"Yes, indeed," Sakura said, milking the situation for all it was worth, "He's going to have lunch with my family in order to meet my parents. Aren't you, Sasuke-kun?"

"Yes, of course," Sasuke said, a feeling of doom falling upon him.

"I'm going to go to the Hokage Tower to see if there's anything we need to do later," Kakashi stated.

"I'm going to see As… I mean 'I'm going to see how Team 10 is progressing by asking their instructor,'" Kurenai hastily said. With that, all but two members of the group had left.

"Hi, Hinata," Naruto said, moving slowly, "Kyuubi doesn't want to fix my system up himself, so this will take me a while."

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, "Maybe if I put in some more chakra…"

"Don't worry your pretty little head," he responded, taking her hand, "I'll get better soon. Why don't we take a walk around the village?"

"Okay, Naruto-kun, but, should you feel even the least bit ill, we're headed straight home, and you're going into a bed."

"But statues don't need beds," Naruto protested.

Hinata looked at him with an expression that would brook no argument coming from him, and said, "You are going to be in a bed if you feel sick. That's final."

"Yes, ma'am," he responded meekly. Somewhere in his mind, he heard Kyuubi laughing at him for some reason.

* * *

><p>Hinata and Naruto walked for a while, taking in the sights as they passed them. Eventually, they got to Yamanaka Flower Shop, which Naruto, still rather pale, ran towards.<p>

"Hinata!" he cheered, "Look! They're all over the place!"

"Do you want to go inside?" she asked, smiling at his excitement. When she looked at him once she said that, she saw his eyes gain a bright sparkle as he nodded his head vigorously. Opening the door, he let Hinata walk in first before he entered.

"It's beautiful," he said, his tone reverent as he looked at each of the flowers, one by one, "I can't believe that such a wonderful place exists. It's so alive. Everything here is amazing. I can't even describe this place. It's just too beautiful for words."

"You should try having to live with them," a feminine voice joked from behind the pair, "So, who's your boyfriend, Hinata?"

"I-It's not like that," Hinata said, suddenly stuttering as her face turned red while she and Naruto turned to face the speaker.

A blonde girl dressed in purple with one eye covered by her bangs was standing behind them.

"You're a ninja," Naruto commented, identifying her by the hitai-ate she was using as a belt.

"So are you," she responded, raising an eyebrow, "You must be Sasuke-kun and Forehead's new teammate."

"Forehead?" Naruto asked, "I don't have a teammate named Forehead. I just have Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. Who are you?"

"I'm Ino Yamanaka," she responded with a smile, "Forehead is my nickname for Sakura from when we were rivals for Sasuke-kun's affection. It kind of stuck even though we're friends again. What's your name?"

"My name is Naruto," he answered.

"Well, Naruto," Ino smiled devilishly as she turned to Hinata, "Why are you and Hinata so close? I've heard that you are rarely away from her when you aren't with your team. You two wouldn't happen to be a couple would you…?"

"Hinata is the reason I exist," Naruto said obliviously, "Without her, I wouldn't be here. Oh, dear, look at the time. Hinata's father would probably not be pleased if we missed lunch. Have a nice day, Ino Yamanaka."

With the realization that they might be late for lunch with her father, who would not tolerate lateness, Hinata ran to the complex, a still slightly pale Naruto in tow.

Ino sat there, processing what she had just heard from Naruto's mouth. He thought of Hinata as the reason he existed. Clearly he was very much in a loving relationship with her. He even met her father, who, judging by Naruto's state of 'alive,' evidently was not against the relationship. And if Hiashi Hyuuga was fine with the relationship, that meant Hinata's cousin Neji was also fine with it. Straightening her back at the sudden realization, Ino began to plan. She had gossip to deliver to the entire village in the next 24 hours.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the Hokage Tower, a jounin was getting an assignment for his team.<p>

"It's a simple C Rank mission," the Hokage said, "You need to protect a bridge builder named Tazuna from bandits. It should be rather simple for your team."

"I will accept on behalf of my team," Kakashi answered, "We will not fail the mission."

"Let them know by tomorrow, as that is when Tazuna leaves this village to return to his own," the Hokage stated, handing the scroll to Kakashi.

"I'll inform them immediately," Kakashi responded, taking the scroll.

Kakashi then left the Tower, planning on informing his team as soon as he could find each of them. Sakura and Sasuke would be easy to find, but Naruto would take a while. These thoughts were interrupted when he found himself suddenly tied up in a large quantity of rope. Anko had caught him. This would take a while to get out of.


	11. Chapter 11

A Hero

Chapter 11

I don't own Naruto. Does anyone even read these disclaimers?

Kakashi had managed to escape. He was possibly the only person to ever escape that dungeon, but that didn't matter to him. He had used his spare mask, a scarecrow of himself he kept sealed in his pouch, and an old copy of Icha Icha, which he hoped to reclaim later, but he was now free of that prison. Anko would be angry, but he needed to talk to his team. The sooner they were ready, the sooner they could get the mission done.

He first headed to Sakura's house, having remembered where Sakura and Sasuke had said they were going to be. He wasn't sure if they would be there, as the sun was setting already, but that was the only place he had heard any of his students would be.

When he got to the door, he was greeted by the Haruno matriarch, who told him that Sakura was upstairs in her room, and that he could go tell her whatever it was he needed to tell her up there.

When he got up there, he was mildly surprised to see Sasuke. The main thing that held the surprise for him was that he was tied up in a strangely familiar way to a chair, with duct tape over his mouth. Deciding that it was escape training, he turned to Sakura, who had just acknowledged his presence and said, "We have a mission tomorrow. We're escorting a bridge maker home and getting rid of a few bandits. Show up at dawn. Oh, and Sasuke, you really need to work on your escape."

Ignoring Sasuke's muffled pleas; Kakashi began his search for the statue. Deciding he'd have better luck going to the Hyuuga Compound, given the statue's attachment to Hinata Hyuuga, it was most likely that he would be there. Along the way, he ran into Ino Yamanaka, daughter of Inoichi.

"You're Naruto's instructor, right?" she asked, scrutinizing him carefully, "What do you think of his relationship with Hinata? Do you think they're going to last?"

"Look, I'm very busy, and I don't have the time for this," Kakashi said impatiently, "I need to get to the Hyuuga Compound to tell Naruto about a mission, which I consider more important than gossip."

As he passed her by and kept his course, Ino had a thoughtful expression on her face. Naruto's sensei didn't know about this relationship. Did Sasuke-kun and Forehead know? She now had more people to talk to about the matter. A secret relationship between members of the ninja community? This would be as big as her exposing Asuma-sensei and Kurenai's equally secret relationship

It was tough, but Kakashi had managed to get into the Hyuuga Compound and walk right into the office of Hiashi Hyuuga, himself. Once there, he was informed by the clan head that the heiress had taken the statue to the garden, where they would sit for some time usually. Kakashi thanked the man and searched the labyrinthine maze for a while before he found the pair sitting beneath a plum tree.

"Naruto," Kakashi said, looking at the still slightly pale statue, "We have a mission to Wave. We're going to take a bridge maker home and get rid of some bandits."

"Yes, sir," Naruto said groggily as Hinata pulled him to his feet as Kakashi left.

"You are going to be in a bed tonight," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But statues don't…" he began before she cut him off with a light glare that made a chill run down his metaphorical spine, as well as through his literal body.

"Go to a spare bedroom now," she commanded, smiling in an almost predatory way that made him feel a strange tingly sensation in his chest, as well as the weird stomach thing that came when she terrified Hanabi, "You need to rest properly for your mission."

"Yes ma'am," he squeaked in mild terror and whatever that other feeling was as he headed back to the building. It was probably better for him to not argue with someone who was giving him that look. Hinata smiled as he entered the building. She was definitely going to see about keeping him as a resident of the building.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the students of Team Seven met at the village gate and saw the client, an old man who looked like a builder with a hat, a bottle of liquor, and a pack on his back. Not particularly interested in any of them, he just ignored them for the most part.<p>

Not caring about the disinterest, the trio began to talk to one another for a while before Sakura made an interesting observation.

"Naruto," she commented, "Your colors keep flickering to grey every now and again. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," he shrugged with a smile, "It's just a technical difficulty."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked, looking carefully at his friend, "We could talk to Kakashi about handing this mission off…"

"I'll be fine, believe it," Naruto said, his colors flickering, "My system is just calibrating the chakra. It gets a bit touchy when I start back up, sometimes."

"As long as you're sure," Sakura said unsurely.

"What's wrong with the blonde kid?" the client asked, "He sick or something?"

"Just fixing myself," Naruto responded, "I'll be fine once the mission begins, sir."

"Can I ask for a different team?" the man asked, getting nervous, "One of you is obviously sick, and none of you seem all that dangerous to be honest."

Sakura looked livid, while Naruto seemed too busy concentrating on… whatever it was he was trying to do to fix himself. Sasuke, meanwhile, just nodded at Sakura, who rose and got ready to punch a tree to mulch. Right before she could deliver the fatal blow, Kakashi came over to the group, his outfit disheveled and scratches on his face.

"Sorry I'm late. I was attacked by a snake loving woman who was out for revenge and blood, among other things," he said, shuddering at how enraged Anko was. It was probably for the best he didn't get into all the details of what had happened. He didn't want his sweet and completely innocent students to know of such horrors yet. Knowledge of such things could corrupt them, and then he would get in trouble for it, and he wouldn't be able to read his books in public anymore.

"Let's go," he commanded quickly, looking over his shoulder, "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get away."

And so, Team Seven left, unprepared for what awaited them out there, and unaware of the rumors that were beginning to circulate about Naruto as well as the traps that were being set up for Kakashi.


	12. Chapter 12

A Hero

Chapter 12

I don't own Naruto. At least, I don't think I do. My Magic 8 Ball says I don't, so we'll work under the assumption that I don't own Naruto. I wonder if anyone is even reading this disclaimer. If so, then hello to you people who are reading this disclaimer.

Team Seven traveled with Tazuna the bridge maker going about their usual business. Sakura was linked arm in arm with Sasuke, while Kakashi was a few steps ahead of the group. Naruto was beside the client; flickering at a much more rapid speed than before they had left. He was grimacing a bit, as if it pained him to do so, but he kept up with the group, keeping silent while the client nervously chattered about the process of making the bricks to build the bridge.

Naruto suddenly paused in his stride and said, "Uh oh."

Right when he said that, his arms pressed against his side and his legs pushed together at the ankles. Then, he turned back to stone, not moving at all. Turning to see what he was upset about, Sakura and Sasuke saw Naruto in his statue form. Thinking for a moment, Sakura deduced what was probably the cause and said, "Kakashi-sensei, Naruto is restarting from his recalibrations for his chakra and is back in his statue form. Do you want me to carry him?"

"That would probably be for the best," Kakashi said sagely, looking around carefully as Sakura lifted her teammate, "At least you get your first lesson in working on a team without a single drop of blood shed."

Suddenly, two men hopped out of puddles that were around Kakashi and rammed him against a tree with a chain attached to their clawed metal gloves before they pulled farther and pulled the chain through both him and the tree. Sasuke and Sakura cried out in rage, but moved to guard the client from the attackers rather than attempt to avenge their fallen sensei. These were no mere bandits; that was certain.

As the two men charged at them, Sasuke spat a fireball at one, causing him to pull back, his hair while Sakura struck the other in the face with Naruto's still stone body, causing him to fly back. The men both moved back to regroup while Sasuke used two more fireballs to destroy the puddles, removing the men's easiest means of attack, hopefully. The men then moved in again, circling the group with their chains as they avoided different strikes. As they attempted to tighten the loops, the pair of genin leapt out, Sasuke holding the client. Unfortunately, as they had escaped, Naruto's feet had gotten caught in the chains, causing Sakura to drop him. Right when the chains had gotten good and tight, red chakra pushed them loose and knocked the two men back, which led to them going into another temporary retreat.

At the same time, the red chakra disappeared, leaving Naruto in his usual orange glory, facing his teammates as he said, "Sorry, guys. I hadn't accounted for the restart following recalibration. Where's Kakashi sensei, and why do I feel like I hit something small and hard at nearly terminal velocity?"

"I'd love to explain that to you Naruto," Sasuke replied, watching the two men get ready for their next move, "But right now, what level would you say you're at, right now?"

"Oh, I'm at peak levels, right now," Naruto said, "I finished recharging before I woke up."

"Good," Sasuke replied, taking a few kunai out of his pouch and tossing one to Naruto and one to Sakura, "Now, Sakura, you stay with the client. If they get past either Naruto or I, do what you must to save him. Naruto, turn around and stand by me. We need to hold a line and block them off."

"Okay," Naruto said, moving to Sasuke's side and turning, "But who are… Oh."

The two men charged, bracing themselves for another attack, when Naruto suddenly summoned one hundred shadow clones to aid himself and Sasuke. Each attempt the men was fought back by wave upon wave of shadow clones and fireballs, until one managed to get Naruto with his claws. Naruto stood there for a moment, with a confused look on his face which mirrored the one the man's eyes were showing. Turning to face Sasuke as said prodigy continued his flaming attack with his eyes surprisingly red at the irises with three black specks inside, Naruto said, "You might want to keep them away from you. The claws have poison in them. A lot of nightshade, with some poppy, which I think is supposed to affect your ability to concentrate. Also, some lemongrass, though I don't know what that's for. Made with a lot of caution and care. "

As Naruto continued this train of thought, the two men were getting tired. Their movements were slowed, and they seemed to be getting weaker in their strikes as they fought the next wave of shadow clones. Once again, they backed off, but, this time, they began to reach inside of their cloaks. Whatever it was they were going to get, Sakura grabbed Naruto, much to the statue's surprise, and threw him at the men with as much force as she could, knocking both unconscious with that toss. To the trio's surprise, applause came from behind them, revealing Kakashi, alive and well, shocking the two genin who saw him die, as he walked up to the four conscious people in that area while some of Naruto's remaining clones tied the brothers to a nearby tree.

"Well, considering that those were the Demon Brothers, chuunin-level Missing Nin who were moving with the intent to kill, armed with poison and dangerous weapons," Kakashi chuckled, pulling out his precious orange book, "I'd say that you did a good job. Sasuke, good job on leading the team, though you need to monitor how much chakra you use. I'll teach you to use your Sharingan properly when I think the time is right. Sakura, good job following orders, as well as on your improvisation, though, if not for his nature, I don't think Naruto would have been a good weapon to use, let alone twice. Naruto, the same, as well as on your ability to detect the ingredients of a poison, though you don't need to share that information in the battlefield."

Suddenly, he rushed at Tazuna and pinned him against a tree and asked, "Now, do you mind telling us why there are Missing Nin who want to kill you as opposed to some bandits?"

"I'm sorry," Tazuna said sullenly, "I lied to you. Wave needs this bridge completed in order to be freed from the control of a terrible man named Gato, who rules the islands by controlling what gets in and out of Wave. He has several men in his employ, and has these men and another ninja from Mist who has a large sword that he carries with ease. We don't have enough money to buy an A Rank, so I had to lie to get someone to help us."

"I see," Kakashi said vaguely, releasing the man, "Give us a minute. We need to talk about this."

Kakashi took his team aside and looked at each of them as he asked, "What do you three think? Do you want to continue the mission despite everything we've been told about them and everything we probably haven't been told?"

"Well, they seem to be rather desperate," Sasuke commented, looking at the bridge builder, "I say that we should continue this as planned."

"I agree with Sasuke," Sakura said, scrutinizing the bridge builder as well, "These people need our help."

"What about you, Naruto?" Kakashi inquired as all five of their eyes focused on Naruto, "What do you think we should do?"

"We should obviously stay," Naruto responded, "If we leave, then the people will continue to live in a substandard fashion, and will continue to be brutalized by this 'Gato,' which is not something anyone should stand for."

Kakashi smiled, which was only visible from his eye. His team wasn't going to abandon people in need. Turning to Tazuna, he calmly said, "We're here to help. Let us know what exactly is going on and how Gato enforces his will."


	13. Chapter 13

A Hero

Chapter 13

I still don't own Naruto. Are you reading this? If so, wow. I suppose that you read the other ones, too, then.

Team Seven continued walking, having been properly briefed on the situation of Wave. Once briefed on what happened, they had formed a circle around the client and headed off to the man's house.

"It's rather fascinating," Naruto said, still contemplating the poison, "There was no real need for the lemongrass."

"Enough with the lemongrass," Sakura said in annoyance, "You've been going on and on about it for a while now."

"I have to agree with Sakura," Sasuke said, his Sharingan deactivated for the moment, "Right now we need to focus on the mission."

"Duck!" Kakashi suddenly shouted, pulling Tazuna to the ground as his three students threw themselves to the ground, avoiding the sword that had been flung at them.

"That's a beautiful sword," Naruto commented, observing the giant blade of doom as it flew past them.

When said sword landed, a man was standing on it when it had shown up. He had short black hair and bandages over most of his face. Looking at the latter feature, Naruto said, "Kakashi-sensei, I didn't know you had a brother!"

"That's not my brother," Kakashi said, glaring at the man, "That's Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Mist, a Missing Nin and former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"I see my reputation precedes me," Zabuza remarked, looking at the group derisively, "Hand over Tazuna and there won't be any problems, Copy Cat Kakashi."

Kakashi's only response was to raise his forehead protector, revealing a Sharingan which seemed to have been implanted. Noticing the change in behavior, Naruto summoned twenty shadow clones, Sasuke fired up his Sharingan, and Sakura shoved the client behind her with one hand while pulling out a kunai with the other. Kakashi charged the man, and they began to battle, Kakashi leaping out of the way of each swing of the sword while Zabuza swerved to avoid each and every jutsu Kakashi could throw at him. The battle progressed while Sasuke, the Naruto army and Sakura continued to keep close to the client, though they noticed that their sensei was hard-pressed to continue the fight. Eventually, Zabuza surprised Kakashi by using something he called the "Water Release Technique" to imprison him.

Sasuke turned to his teammates, realizing that they would need to help Kakashi. He didn't plan on losing anyone again, so they needed a plan. But what?

"Any ideas?" Sasuke asked. They needed a plan. Any plan would do at this point.

"Why don't you throw me at him?" Naruto asked, "I repair any damage to myself, and he needs to concentrate. Obviously, we're going to need some kind of distraction, though, since he seems like he can concentrate on the largest problems at hand."

"Will these do?" Sakura asked pulling a large number of exploding tags out of her bag.

"Perfect," Sasuke said, reaching into his own pouch to pull out several kunai to attach the notes to.

"Don't strike him directly," Naruto said, attaching the notes to each of the the kunai alongside his clones, "It's best to try to keep him on his toes by making him think we're bad at aiming before we strike."

Once Team 7 had all of the notes strapped to kunai, Sakura lead half of the clones in sending volley after volley of exploding projectiles around the missing nin while the other half remained around the client. Right when Zabuza seemed to start ignoring their efforts, Sasuke threw Naruto at him, causing the swordsman to drop his hands to strike the blond with his large sword. Once he was impaled deeply onto the sword, Naruto smiled at Zabuza and have him a strong headbutt, causing Zabuza to drop the sword, Naruto still attached. Kakashi was free to continue the fight as Naruto used the Replacement Technique to put a clone that was among his army of twenty in his place.

Appearing next to Sakura, the blonde statue asked, "Would you mind pulling this out? I don't think I'll be very useful fighting with a sword lodged in my... well entire torso, I guess."

Accepting his request, Sakura grabbed the hilt and pulled with as much force as she could, and got the blade out of him. Making sure it didn't get away from them, she stabbed it into the ground, burying the blade halfway into the ground.

Sasuke, meanwhile, had regrouped with the shadow clones that were with the client. Once there, he began giving orders regarding their formation, arming each of them with a kunai in preparation for if Zabuza got past Kakashi. Once Naruto had properly healed, he and Sakura lead the rest of the shadow clones to Sasuke and the client, watching the fight as it progressed.

Kakashi had gained the upper hand with the loss of Zabuza's sword, and was getting close to winning when a senbon suddenly flew out of nowhere and struck Zabuza in the neck, causing him to drop down to the ground, seeming to be dead.

From the shadows in the area the senbon flew from, out came a young hunter nin, face obscured by a porcelain mask. Not speaking a word, the hunter nin pulled out a sheet of paper, which they then unrolled, revealing a picture of Zabuza over a price for his head. Kakashi merely nodded at the hunter nin, and turned to his team saying, "This hunter nin has been hunting Zabuza for a while. He saw us fighting him and took their chance to get rid of him as effectively as possible."

The hunter nin nodded his affirmation of Kakashi's statement. Once he was satisfied with how things were going, the hunter nin began to build a pyre to put the body on. Looking unconcerned, Kakashi move his team to leave the fake hunter nin to their own devices. They would need some preparation time for the next confrontation.


	14. Chapter 14

A Hero

Chapter 14

I, Christopher Scott: A Gentleman Thief still don't own Naruto.

All rights to Naruto and all related characters and other trademarked materials belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Next chapter has the battle. Also, some Haku gender teasing in this one. You disclaimer readers are now aware of this.

Naruto Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi got Tazuna to his house with relative ease after the battle with Zabuza, an exhausted Kakashi notwithstanding. Once there, the client invited them inside to meet his family, which the team agreed to do.

The house was a rather humble building, but it seemed to have a kind of warmth inside. At least, it seemed to until they saw a young boy with a blue and white hat inside glaring at them. Naruto merely smiled at the boy and kept walking until they entered the kitchen and met a young woman, clearly Tazuna's daughter.

"Hello," she said softly, "What are you doing here?"

"We are here to protect Tazuna as he continues the construction of the bridge," Kakashi responded blankly, "I am Kakashi, and these are my students, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto."

"It is nice to meet you," she said, "I am Tsunami, and this is my son Inari."

At the name, Naruto chuckled, amused by the choice.

"What's so funny?" Tsunami asked, puzzled by his chuckle.

"That's not important," Kakashi said blankly, "We're in the middle of protecting our client."

"It's not like you can do it anyway," the boy said bitterly, "Nobody can stand up to Gato."

"If you maintain that attitude, you're right," Naruto said, turning to face Inari, "I've seen people fight for a cause and die several times, but those who mattered most to them would take up their fight for them. Together, people can fix problems in ways that make the works of heroes actually mean something. With your own two hands, you can change the world for the better."

The boy looked at Naruto silently for a moment before he left the room quickly. Tsunami then sadly remarked, "I'm so sorry, ninja-san. His stepfather, Kaiza was the last hero that Wave had. He was a good man, and he loved us so much... When Gato had him killed, it hit Inari worse than anyone."

"Don't worry," Naruto said, "Minato dealt with orphans before he was made into a statue again. I've got some of his memories."

"What?" Tsunami asked, confusion written on her face.

"It's a long story," Kakashi explained, "It's not worth the trouble of explaining., just now. The short version is Naruto's a living statue."

"It only gets more complicated from there, believe it," Naruto added, shrugging his shoulders. Sakura and Sasuke, meanwhile, looked intrigued. They were probably going to have some questions later.

"Why don't we just move on out of here," Kakashi said, not thinking of anything else for them to discuss, "I'm sure you're busy here, and I have to talk to my students, anyway."

With that, Team 7 left the room and walked outside. Once they were a good distance from the house, Kakashi asked, "Did anything seem odd to any of you when the hunter nin showed up?"

"Well, I did detect a slight scent of lemongrass when they showed up," Naruto said, "Why do so many people here seem to use lemongrass? It's more of a preservative when the oil is extracted."

"I noticed that they seemed to arrive right when you could have killed Zabuza," Sasuke commented, "Their timing was rather interesting."

"They've been tracking Zabuza for so long, so they should have done as we had and attacked when he was holding you, as that would have been the first time to strike him, due to what would have been his inability to notice a senbon while maintaining the Water Prison, something that a hunter nin would have noticed," Sakura added.

"Exactly," Kakashi said, "Now, think: The Demon Brothers were hired by this Gato alongside Zabuza. Their poison, as Naruto helpfully pointed out excessively had a hint of lemongrass to it. Then, Zabuza came and was doing well, until you three intervened, changing the tide of battle. When Zabuza was being beaten, the hunter nin decided to show up and took Zabuza out, despite having a clear shot during the battle when Zabuza was dominating the fight. That means that the hunter nin was clearly employed by Zabuza, and presumably had created a poison that would make it seem like he was dead. As such, I'm setting all of you out to exercise until dinner. I would help you, but my chakra reserves are still somewhat depleted. Still, I can give you advice when you try to water walk."

"Is water walking anything like the tree walking you had us do?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yes, but, as the name implies, it's walking on water, rather than tree trunks," Kakashi said tiredly, "You're going to need to use more chakra control this time."

Team 7 returned to the house once Kakashi was satisfied with their progress. Sakura, having impossibly good chakra control had, of course, managed to get water walking down quickly, while Sasuke had some issue before he managed. Naruto, once again due to his lack of an actual chakra network, had struggled until he managed to get the hang of the technique.

"Remember, we don't share word of the fake hunter nin, or Zabuza probably being alive with the family," Kakashi told the students, "They have enough to deal with as it is. When we come across them again, we just continue with the task at hand."

Once they got inside the house, they found themselves greeted by a silent Inari, who, after giving a quick look at Naruto, just walked to the table. The dinner was, for the most part silent, with no one really talking, since Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi didn't have anything to say, while Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami didn't know what they could possibly talk about with the team seated at the table with them.

After a few minutes, Tazuna asked, "Do you want to stay here for the night?"

"Sure," Kakashi said, "If you have a spare room, we'll sleep there."

"Actually," Naruto said, "I could just as easily be placed outside."

"No, you can't" Kakashi said, "We need to stay together as a team. As such, statue or not, you're going to be in the room with the rest of us."

"Okay, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto agreed, "But, may I be excused? I feel a need to survey the landscape."

"Alright, but don't take too long," Kakashi replied, "We're going to need to be ready tomorrow to deal with the issues that could arise."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said as he left the table and proceeded to head off.

As he continued down the path, he found a girl picking some herbs. Heading to her, he asked, "Excuse me, miss, but why are you picking lemongrass? It's just a preservative, and I doubt that it would be of much value to you if you're making some sort of medicine."

"It does if you have to make sure the medicine can last," the girl replied, "Also, I'm a boy. My name is Haku."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, "Because your choice in attire is rather feminine, and your facial features, specifically your jawline seem to indicate more estrogen in your system than testosterone. Also, your voice is pitched higher than that of most boys."

"Yes, I'm a boy," Haku answered, somehow remaining calm, "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry. My name is Naruto," Naruto responded, "I'm a statue, and my job is to defend my teammates and my village."

"In that, we are the same," Haku remarked, "I fight to protect my precious people as well. When a person has something important they want to protect; that's when they become truly strong."

"I think you''re right," Naruto said, "I remember Minato telling something similar to his students. He fought for those he cared for: Kakashi, Rin, Kushina. He managed to defend those who mattered to him, even when all hope seemed lost. I hope I can live up to his legacy one day."

"He sounds like a good man," Haku commented, returning to his picking.

"He was," Naruto said, getting up from his crouching position, "Well, I must get going, as I have to return to my team immediately. Hopefully we can meet at a better time, Haku."

"Unfortunately we will not be able to, Naruto," Haku muttered softly as the statue got farther away. Haku then hurried his picking. He needed to get the herbs to Zabuza so he would be ready for the confrontation tomorrow.


	15. Chapter 15

A Hero

Chapter 15

I still don't own Naruto. This is unlikely to change. Ah, well. At least I still have my nonprofit story to tell on this site.

Team Seven woke that morning with a sense of foreboding. Something didn't feel right, though they weren't sure what. All they knew was that whatever it was, they weren't going to enjoy dealing with it.

"Naruto, Sasuke," Kakashi ordered, "You two stay here for a while. I caught two flares of unfamiliar chakra that shouldn't be here outside. If my guess is correct, they plan on taking Tazuna's family to coerce him into stop building. Sakura, you're with me, hopefully, we won't have any encounters that will cause complications."

With that, both the kunoichi and the jounin instructor left with the client while the two remaining genin began to search the house for the other occupants. If there were invaders, it wouldn't do to find them after Tazuna's family had been captured.

* * *

><p>Kakashi walked at a leisurely pace, followed by Tazuna, with Sakura bringing up the rear, brandishing a kunai in each hand, completely silent. Tazuna looked nervous, which Kakashi could understand, but it still might make him a liability if he panicked. Abandoning that thought, Kakashi took out a copy of Icha Icha. His love of the books was legendary, and he didn't know if Zabuza was aware that Team Seven knew he was alive. If he wasn't, it wouldn't be a good idea to seem like they were anticipating him, or his fake hunter nin. A distracted jounin would be a good bait for the fight, and he was sure that he and Sakura could keep the fight going until the entire team was there. As a mist began to spread across the field a few yards ahead, Kakashi cursed slightly. He hadn't expected to have to fight so soon. Pretending to be reading, he let out a fake giggle to make it seem as if he was in another little world as they began to stroll towards the fight that was coming.<p>

* * *

><p>Back at the house, Naruto and Sasuke had managed to locate Inari and Tsunami. Unfortunately, by that time, there were two samurai in the room, holding Tsunami and Inari down onto the ground.<p>

"What's the plan?" Naruto asked, turning to Sasuke, "Should you neutralize one while I distract the other, leap in headfirst and hope for the best, or something entirely different? I've got some very interesting ideas under the last category."

"What are you thinking of?" Sasuke asked as a large grin spread across the statue's face.

"Well, it's something we both know, and you get to relieve any stress and anger you've had recently because of it. Don't worry, Tsunami and Inari'll be fine."

The two samurai were busy trying to tie up the woman and her son, who had rushed to her defense when they arrived. The woman was easy to tie, but the boy kept thrashing and wriggling loose when they moved even the slightest. Suddenly, to their surprise, they saw flashing metal, almost a solid piece with what looked like scales for it's design. Their thoughts were cut of when the metal began to fly off, revealing to be several kunai that had been surrounding an orange blur, which was followed by a fireball heading for their heads. Suddenly, the blur vanished in a puff of smoke as the fireball seemed to miss its target, destroying the blur.

The samurai's relief at that was short-lived, as all the kunai they had noticed before continued to fly straight at them, puncturing any bit of their flesh that had been unprotected by their armor. The last thing they saw was a boy in orange flying towards them like a discus. With that, they were welcomed into the realm of concussions.

"Well, that went well," Sasuke said, rolling his shoulders from the mild pain. Sakura made throwing Naruto look so easy, too.

"Where were you guys?" Inari asked curiously as Naruto untied his ropes while Sasuke untied Tsunami's ropes.

"Don't you know?" Naruto asked, picking up most of the kunai, "Heroes always arrive a bit late, believe it. Now, stay here, and if anyone comes, use one of these. Now, let's go Sasuke."

* * *

><p>In the mist filled clearing, Kakashi was managing to hold his own against Zabuza during their battle while Sakura was fighting the mysterious fake medic nin, who, she had to admit, did smell like lemongrass. Though they were skilled with senbon, Sakura had many explosive tags and kunai on her person, so she launched volley after volley before deciding to close the distance. While her opponent had at least low chuunin level skills, they seemed to not be as skilled at taijutsu as Sakura, a weakness which the pinkette immediately used to her advantage. When they were getting too far, Sakura would simply move closer, striking as many weak spots as she could find. They tried to block, but when Sakura had her mind set on getting her opponent, she would find a way. Thanks to her and Kakashi's combined efforts, Tazuna was still safe in the tree Sakura had tossed him into the branches of earlier.<p>

As Sakura moved to make the next strike, she was blocked by a thin layer of ice the fake hunter nin attempted to form that shattered with her chakra-enhanced punch, which missed her opponent, who was now much further back. Just as she prepared to adjust to this new addition to the fight, Naruto and Sasuke appeared out of the mist and moved into the fake hunter nin's path before Sakura could warn them about said fake hunter nin being right behind them.

As tended to happen when people find themselves in such a situation, Naruto and Sasuke found themselves in a precarious situation. They were currently trapped in a rather small dome of ice that was probably rather thick, as they could distantly hear Sakura pounding on the walls from the outside.

"I'm afraid that you will have to die for going against Zabuza-sama, for I, being his tool must defeat you," the fake hunter nin said in what Naruto was certain was a familiar voice, "You and your teammate outside of here can try to break my dome, but it will continue to repair itself, while I can move freely through my ice mirrors in here."

At that statement, the fake hunter nin began to throw several poisoned senbon at the entrapped boys from as many angles as possible, Naruto intentionally taking most of them due to their inability to affect him, which was fine with him. Things continued like this for a while before Sasuke made left vulnerable when he tried to remove some senbon from Naruto to prevent any clusters that could break off pieces of the statue. He then found himself rewarded with several senbon embedded in his body for his trouble. As Sasuke seemed to drop dead, Naruto went inside his mind to get something important.

'Kyuubi, I need some of your chakra now!' the boy demanded angrily. No one would hurt one of his friends and get away with it!

'I was wondering if you'd ever ask, kit,' the Kyuubi responded, donating some chakra, 'I almost though you forgot about me.'

"Well, fake hunter nin," Naruto said, channeling some of Kyuubi's chakra through a kunai as he began to carve several symbols into several points in the mirrors, "You've managed to kill my friend, and I don't like that. Have you ever heard of Minato, the Yellow Flash?"

The fake hunter nin nodded their head, standing in an ice mirror in front of the boy whose eyes were turning red, before they said, "I have heard of him, though I see no reason to bring him up now. Also, as I said before, the ice repairs itself, so your carvings will fade soon."

"That would be a problem if I weren't using chakra from a tenant inside of me," Naruto responded, all trace of the friendly boy that his teammates knew gone, replaced with something else, "Now, Minato was, apart from being the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, a master of seals, due to lessons from Jiraiya, the Toad Sage. Possessing some of his memories, I learned a little trick from him, which is why I cut seals into your ice. This was his signature jutsu, as far as he had one, which he used to defeat an entire army, and what earned him the name The Yellow Flash. It's called the Hiraishin no Jutsu!"

As the fake hunter nin attempted to strike Naruto with a volley of senbon, presumably hoping to knock him to the ground, Naruto vanished in a flash of yellow, which began to appear in different places throughout the dome, striking the fake hunter nin with quite a bit of force repeatedly. This abuse continued until the now completely unconscious fake hunter nin crashed through the dome after several attacks by the statue had hit their marks repeatedly.

Seeing an opportunity to get her teammates out of the dome present itself, Sakura braced herself and pushed more chakra into her fist before she swung and shattered the dome with one punch. When the demolition proved successful, she rushed to her teammates, only to find Naruto with red, slitted eyes and darker whisker marks pulling several senbon out of Sasuke's body. Sasuke, meanwhile, was either dead or unconscious. As Sakura began to help remove the weapons from her unofficial boyfriend's body, she saw Naruto stick the end of one in his mouth before lightly tossing it aside.

"Anesthesia!" he suddenly laughed, heading towards the fake hunter nin as his appearance returned to normal, "It's an anesthetic that they used on him. He's going to be fine."

"So, let's see who you are," Naruto said as he removed the mask, "Haku? Well, I suppose that I shouldn't let you get away."

As the statue tied Haku up in a practically foolproof manner, Sakura began to pump green chakra into Sasuke, reviving him by force. As the pair got up, they saw that Kakashi and Zabuza were still fighting, though Kakashi had something of an upper hand by keeping Zabuza in a defensive position. Thinking quickly, Sakura snatched the fake hunter nin away from Naruto and turned them around, placing a kunai at their throat as she shouted, "Zabuza Momochi, surrender now, or I'll cut her throat open!"

"Haku is a boy, Sakura," Naruto commented, confusing the kunoichi a bit with his knowledge of the fake hunter nin.

"What are you doing?" Zabuza shouted, knocking Kakashi aside as he rushed at the kunoichi holding the fake hunter nin. Before he could deliver a blow that could do any damage, however, Naruto intercepted him, causing the sword to once more pierce his chest, though it didn't go through far enough to strike Sakura.

"Surrender is your best option," Sasuke said, holding a kunai of his own to the still-unconscious Haku's stomach as Zabuza struggled to pull the zanbato out of the boy he was certain should be dead.

Unfortunately for the missing nin, Naruto kept moving with the sword with each tug, preventing him from extricating it from his chest.

"Don't mess with my students," a suddenly dangerous sounding voice said behind the swordsman before darkness filled his vision.

"Just in time, boys," Kakashi said, "Naruto, tie him up after Sakura removes the sword from you again. Sasuke, get the client out of the tree."

"Well, this is rather disappointing," a voice said from outside of the dissipating mist, "I had hoped that you two would kill each other, or that Zabuza would kill you and be unable to fight back when my men killed him and his little assistant so I wouldn't have to pay them. I guess he wasn't as good as he thought. Men..."

"You planned on doing what?" Zabuza interrupted with a snarl, suddenly fully awake and pulling his sword out of Naruto.

"Well, that is..." Gato began nervously before the sword cut into him in a way that reminded Naruto of his own experiences with the sword. Fortunately for said statue, he wouldn't have to pull out self-repairing chips of metal, given his lack of blood, but Gato wasn't as lucky, being of flesh and blood and getting sliced by a now pristine sword.

"I'd say that was a termination of my contract. I'm leaving," Zabuza said calmly, turning to Team Seven, "Now, I believe you have someone very important to me. Just return my child... I mean tool... and we'll call it even."

As the surprised mercenaries watched, Sakura handed Haku to Zabuza, who then left, a still unconscious Haku slung over his shoulder, while he planned another way to fund his coup. When the swordsman left, the mercenaries returned to their senses as one of their own numbers shouted, "Hey, that was our meal ticket! What are we going to do now?"

"Let's raid the village!" another shouted, before a crossbow bolt landed in front of one of them.

"Get out of here now," Inari commanded, reloading the crossbow, "We're not going to let you do any more damage."

As the mercenaries looked around, they found all of the villagers in Wave there, armed with whatever they could use. The remaining ninja, meanwhile got into different battle stances. Sakura drew two kunai, one in a customary grip, the other reverse grip, while on her left Sasuke activated his Sharingan and prepared to make the handsigns for a Grand Fireball. Meanwhile, on Sasuke's left, Kakashi once more raised his forehead protector, revealing his own Sharingan as he summoned a couple dozen Shadow Clones. On Sakura's right, Naruto pulled out two kunai attached to exploding tags and made fifty Shadow Clones of his own.

Finding themselves woefully outnumbered, the mercenaries leap into their boats and set sail for other lands, unaware of the live, lit explosives that Naruto and his clones had tossed into their very flammable boats.

"What are you doing here, Inari?" Naruto asked, turning to the boy who was disarming his crossbow.

"Don't you remember?" Inari said with a grin, "Heroes always arrive a bit late."

"Good work," Naruto said before turning to Tazuna, who was climbing out of the tree, "Do you need extra hands to finish your bridge? I've got one hundred-two hands ready right now, and I can make a lot more if you need me to. You're pretty much done as it is..."

"Sure," Tazuna said somewhat dazedly. With so many workers alongside his own workers, they would be done in no time.


	16. Chapter 16

A Hero

Chapter 16

I still don't own Naruto. I doubt anything will change that. By the by, anyone else expect Tobi's true identity? Some friends of mine owe me now. Bwah ha ha ha ha! Are you reading this disclaimer still? Huh. I wonder if anyone's noticed something specific to the Naruto 'Verse missing in this story. Well, on with the story.

As Team Seven left Wave, and with it, the Great Naruto Bridge, named after the person who made up the majority of the workforce on his own, they were met with several farewells from the villagers. As they got further out, Sakura turned to Naruto and asked, "The Yondaime was one of your past lives?"

"Well, not a past life," Naruto said, not noticing the scrutiny Kakashi was watching him with, "He was the previous soul that was sealed into this statue. He talked to me a bit, but he only gave me some tips and told me I'd work out the rest on my own."

"Did he tell you anything else?" Kakashi said, his voice somewhat strained.

"Well, he pointed out that you read too much of some book series, now that I think of it," Naruto commented, "He also said to stop spending so much time at the memorial stone, and that he knows that someone named Anko isn't the only reason you're always late. There was one other thing, after that. I've kind of been putting it off, since I'm scared at how she'd react to meeting me, since I'm kind of his replacement, believe it. Still, he trusted me to this, so I might as well get it done once we get back. Kakashi-sensei, can you help me find someone named Kushina Uzumaki. He wanted me to speak to her."

"Um, Naruto, Kushina has been dead for at least ten years now," Kakashi said softly, "Her name's carved into the memorial stone, since she died in combat."

"I see," the statue said, his face blank, "Can you take me to the stone when we get to the village, then?"

"Of course," Kakashi replied, letting the subject die for the time being, "Now, does anyone else have a feeling that you're going to be in for a terrible surprise once you enter the village?"

"Now that you mention it..." Naruto said, a chill going up where his spine would be.

"I feel a bit off," Sasuke commented, understanding what those two were talking about as well.

"I feel great!" Sakura cheered, looking inside her pack for the senbon she gathered with the anesthetic still coating the tips. You never knew when those would come in handy...

* * *

><p>When they got to the gates of the village, one of the gatekeepers shook his head at Kakashi in what could be interpreted as a sympathetic gesture as they passed through. As they headed to the tower, a small crowd of ninja, mostly the other three genin teams and their instructors, were standing there watching them pass.<p>

Ino was content. She had managed to spread word of Hinata and Naruto's relationship throughout the village when both Teams Seven and Eight had been out on assignment, despite Shikamaru telling her that she was probably ignoring important details. At any rate, Team Eight had gotten back before Team Seven, and so Hinata had discovered her fellow shinobi's theories involving her relationship with the mysterious young man who arrived recently. Her teammates had tastefully not mentioned these things to her, for which she was glad, but Shino and Kiba seemed to be talking about some sort of bet when they thought she wasn't listening.

Anko was pleased. Kakashi had returned, so she could prepare her trap when he least expected it. Soon, she would have him back in her merciful clutches. It was absolutely foolproof.

Hinata was anxious. She wasn't sure how Naruto was doing, since he was rather sick when he left, but his colors seemed to look like they should, for which she was grateful.

It was in this state of the village that Team Seven found themselves in as they headed to the Hokage Tower to deliver their report and then disperse for the day. As they entered the office, the Hokage looked at them and asked, "What happened on your mission? I thought it was a simple protection from bandits situation."

"The mission was misranked due to Wave having budgetary constraints, being an A rather than a C," Kakashi said, popping his stiff back, "the appearance of the Demon Brothers and Zabuza Momochi, as well as an assistant of Zabuza's who disguised themself as a hunter nin led to unforseen complications over a businessman not wanting a bridge built, but the situation was resolved."

"What happened to Zabuza and his assistant as well as the Demon Brothers," the Hokage asked, concerned, yet curious.

"The Demon Brothers were incapacitated by the combined teamwork of my students, and upon killing his client because said client intended on killing him and his assistant, Zabuza fled with his apprentice in tow. We didn't pursue him for various reasons, the main one being that he more or less stated that he wasn't going to be a combatant in what had appeared to be a battle in the making against a team of mercenaries. The money for the mission will be fully paid once Wave manages to make enough to pay off the rest of their debt."

"Alright," the Hokage sighed, writing on the mission scroll, "Team Seven, you've officially completed an A ranked mission. You're dismissed for the day."

"Alright, Naruto, let me take you to the memorial stone now," Kakashi said, "Sasuke, Sakura, do you want to come along?"

Sasuke crashed to the ground as Sakura returned something small and shiny to her kunai pouch.

"I think I should help Sasuke-kun get home," Sakura said innocently, "He's always so confused when he loses the game."

"Alright, then, I guess its just you and me," Kakashi said nonchalantly, "Come on, it's by the training grounds."

"Um, Kakashi-sensei, isn't that one of your books?" Naruto asked, pointing to the book on the ground near a dark alley.

"Huh, so it is..." Kakashi said, "Wait here, I'll go pick it up."

With that, Kakashi walked off and reached down to grab the book, only for it to suddenly move out of his grasp and go further into the alley.

"Weird," he commented, moving closer to the book as he headed closer into the alley. The book then began to move again, which reminded him of the only person who had one of his copies of Icha Icha. As he tried to run, he found himself wrapped up in familiar rope. Knowing that attempting to fight would be useless at this point, he called out to Naruto, "Go on without me! I'll be there in a while!"

* * *

><p>Naruto wasn't sure why Kakashi-sensei had decided to stay in that alley, but he decided to go along with what he said and head out to the training grounds to begin his search. Eventually, he heard the sound of a lump of wood being struck with blows from hands that were channeling and manipulating chakra.<p>

Stepping out from the trees, he found Hinata training alone, practicing her clan techniques on a stump. Walking up to her, he smiled and said, "Hello, Hinata!"

"Hello, Naruto-kun," she said, a smile spreading across her face, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm actually looking for the memorial stone," he replied simply, "Before he had left me alone in the statue, Minato spent some time telling me some things to do, and so I have to fulfill one of these things by talking to a woman named Kushina Uzumaki, who's been dead for years, according to Kakashi-sensei."

"I know where it is," Hinata said softly, "I can take you there if you'd like."

"Are you sure it wouldn't be a bother?" Naruto asked, "I wouldn't like to impose..."

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun," she answered gently, "I'd be glad to help you with this."

With that said, she took Naruto by the hand and expertly began to maneuver him through the training grounds until they made it to a black stone with several names carved into it. Once they got there, Naruto began to scan the stone for names, while Hinata activated her Byakugan to see if it could help. Once she found it, she pointed it out to Naruto and asked, "Do you want me to leave you alone for now?"

"No, I'd like you to stay, if it isn't too much trouble," he responded, not tearing his gaze from the name. Not wanting to distract him from whatever it was he needed to do, she took a few step back anyway, moving out of his field of vision.

"Hello, Kushina Uzumaki," he began, "I'm not sure if you know who I am, since I don't know what the dead know when they get... wherever it is they go. I'm Naruto. You remember how Minato came into being from being a statue when you wished for someone to save you when you were being kidnapped as a child? He told me that story a few times, and even showed the memory to me a few more. Well, I'm the newest statue to come into being, since I was wished into being by Hinata when she realized the Konoha needed a hero.

"You know, I can't help but think about how I was so afraid of how you would view me. I was so certain that you would hate the sight of me because he got taken while I was here now. He loved you, you know. He wanted to marry you. He told me to tell you that. It's funny, actually, here I am, talking to you as if you were here, while you're probably there with him. At least I like to think you two got to the same afterlife.

"The weird thing is, I sometimes wonder what would have happened if you did get married. Would I have been born your child, rather than just a mini-Minato with whiskers? Would you have named me Naruto? He said that was the name he was planning on discussing with you if you had a son. I hope you two are happy together in the afterlife. I think I've got some time before I die, and Hinata's trying to help me with getting more time than just until a crisis is averted. I'm not sure if it'll work, so if it doesn't, would you two mind making room for me? I've been told I'm a good person, and I... Well, I've held you up for some time, so why don't I just say goodbye? Please tell Minato I said 'hello.'"

Tears were visible along the statue's cheeks, surprising both Naruto and Hinata. Noticing his sadness, Hinata moved closer to Naruto, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. After a moment, he gratefully returned the hug, holding her close to him as his tears continued falling.

"Let's go home, Naruto-kun," she said gently, loosening her grip on the statue in order to grab his hand and steer him back to the compound. He needed her right now, and so she was going to be there for him.


	17. Chapter 17

A Hero

Chapter 17

I still don't own Naruto, which is probably a good thing for everyone involved.

It was never said that Kakashi Hatake was a man known for his tact, as to say that would be a complete and utter lie. As such, while Kurenai was surprised by his statement, she was not surprised by the way he said, "Kurenai, I'm commandeering your team for a mission out of the village."

"What?" she asked blankly. Clearly, this morning was going to be one of Those Mornings.

"I'm commandeering your team for a mission outside of the village," Kakashi repeated, "I thought my statement was rather straightforward."

"What's the mission?" she asked, resigned to the demand. If he was saying it, then he'd already gotten permission for it.

"We are going to get Tsunade Senju to come to train Sakura for the Chuunin Exam, since it's coming up," Kakashi said, "I paid for this mission myself. Should be a simple four day maximum C-Rank."

"And what makes you think she'd come back?" Kurenai countered, "She hasn't set foot here in over a decade."

"Eh, we'll think of something," Kakashi said, shrugging his shoulders, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a snake summoner to distract and students to inform of an upcoming mission."

"Wait," Kurenai said, "What was the rank of your team's last mission out of the village?"

"It was a simple C-Rank," Kakashi said, smiling visibly with his eye, "The Demon Brothers were a bit tough for my adorable students, but they managed to beat them, and then they helped neutralize Zabuza Momochi and his accomplice as threats before he decided to leave."

As he left, Kakashi's smile turned into a smirk, as he knew that Kurenai would be losing sleep over those words.. That'd teach Kurenai to replace his precious with those evil, evil books which he'd never name or summarize, lest it destroy his mind. Oh, yes, revenge was so very sweet.

It was a pleased Kakashi who greeted Team Seven that morning. He had managed to pay for a mission that his team would take, he'd gotten revenge on Kurenai, and he managed to trick Anko for the time being using a Shadow Clone, a copy of Icha Icha, and a bit of string. As such, it was with this satisfaction at a day that had gone so well thus far that he looked at them and said, "Alright, so the Chuunin Exams start next week, and I wanted to make sure that you all had the best teachers for the job. As such, I've bribed Jiraiya of the Sannin to train Naruto, and I will train Sasuke, since I'm the only person in the village with a Sharingan."

"What about Sakura?" Sasuke asked before his teammates could.

"I'll admit, it was a bit hard to find someone I thought would be skilled enough," Kakashi said, relishing this moment, "but I couldn't find anyone in the village who I found worthy of teaching her in her chosen fields. As such, I've commissioned our team, as well as the genin of Team Eight and Anko, on a C-Rank mission to get Tsunade of the Sannin to return to Konoha and train our Sakura. Pack your bags and tell anyone you think needs to know. I'm off to tell Team Eight and Anko. Meet back here in half an hour."

With that, Kakashi took in his students' adorable looks of shock and interest before he vanished in a swirl of leaves. He was going to save Anko for last if his clone didn't last long enough to tell her about the mission, which he doubted it did.

Entering Training Ground Eight, Kakashi went up to the trio of genin and said, "Alright, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, you're with me. We've got a mission. You're coming with my team to find Tsunade of the Sannin and bring her back to Konoha. Pack some belongings, tell who you need to tell, and meet my team at Training Ground Seven in half an hour."

With that, he vanished in yet another swirl of leaves, forcing Kurenai to explain anything he left out. Now he just needed to tell Anko about the mission. This would be the dangerous part of the mission.

It was with quite a bit of trepidation that Kakashi knocked on the door of the special jounin's house. It also took a lot of courage to not run away as fast as possible when she opened the door, looking furious, which, of course, he found attractive. Nevertheless, he had genin to deal with in three hours, and he had to tell her she had to come, too.

"Hello, Anko," he said, feeling somewhat terrified, "I see you found the clone..."

"You realize that you've willingly walked up to my door, right?" Anko asked, grinning in a predatory fashion.

"This is mostly business, Anko," Kakashi said, "I've paid for a C-Rank involving two genin teams, myself, and you. We're going to go get Tsunade Senju of the Legendary Sannin to come back to Konoha."

"Why do you need me?" she asked, intrigued by the mission. She was always a sucker for managing the impossible.

"Well, first of all, you love managing the impossible," he responded, as if reading her mind, "Secondly, by the time we get there, it'll be one of those festivals where someone has to have someone with them, and I'd rather take you than Gai, Kurenai, Gai, Asuma, or Gai. Did I mention I don't want Gai involved in this?"

"Why not?" Anko asked, amused by the repetitive nature of the list.

"I remember the last time I took him out of the village on an escort mission," Kakashi said with a shudder, "He lit an entire village on fire by complete accident. At least with you, I'll know the destruction is necessary and intentional."

"Good call," Anko said, also remembering that mission. Ever since then, Gai was forbidden from going anywhere near what was once referred to as the Village Hidden in the Paper, which had been renamed The Village Hidden in the Ashes. Thinking a bit more, she asked, "So, why me for the festival?"

"Well, the members of this team are going to be disguised as couples," Kakashi explained, "Sakura with Sasuke, Naruto with Hinata, me with you, and, due to the limited number of girls on this mission, the Inuzuka with the Aburame."

"Huh," Anko said. That did make sense to an extent, though she wondered how the two boys would react to the details of the mission.

"But that about sums it up," Kakashi said, slowly edging away from the door, "I'm going to meet up with them in three hours so I really should be going..."

His attempt to flee was cut off by Anko grabbing him by his collar and whispering, "Three hours, you say? Well, I know how you're going to be spending them."

Kakashi tried to pull away as she dragged him into her house.

'Well,' he thought to himself as he accepted his fate, 'There's no stopping her now...'


	18. Chapter 18

A Hero

Chapter 18

I don't own Naruto. I'm also running out of amusing disclaimers. Good news is that I got this chapter out on time this month. Now to just do the same for the other monthly updates.

Kakashi had finished explaining the mission to the group as they traveled to the village. He was certain that there would be no complaints.

"YOU WANT ME AND SHINO TO WHAT?!" Kiba shouted. Evidently Kakashi was wrong.

"You have to pretend that you are going to this festival which that village throws every February together," Kakashi explained.

"Why us?" Kiba demanded, his eyes narrowed.

"Well, all of the girls involved are taken," Kakashi responded quite reasonably in his opinion.

"Well, I do have a technique that could turn me or my shadow clones into girls," Naruto said helpfully, before creating two clones, which transformed into female versions of himself dressed in orange dresses.

"No, that wouldn't work at all," Anko said, destroying the hopeful looks that the Inuzuka was giving Kakashi as she dispelled the clones with a pair of kunai. This was too entertaining for her to allow a reasonable action to be taken.

"I have to agree with Anko," Kakashi said, thinking of the practicality of the idea, "If there were two identical girls and a boy who looked like them while being the exact same age, people might notice and inform Tsunade."

"So, we're agreed," Anko said with a smile, "The Inuzuka and the Aburame will be going together. Now, everyone, hide your forehead protectors. If Tsunade gets even the hint of a word that there are Konoha shinobi in this village, she'll leave faster than we could find her."

"Also, your usual outfits wouldn't do," Kakashi said, pulling down his masks to reveal a surgical mask that covered his face from the bridge of his nose down, "We're going to have to travel in formal clothes to avoid any notice. Boys, come with me. Girls, go with Anko. We've got what you're all wearing. And before you ask, Aburame, yes you can wear your sunglasses."

With that, Kakashi led the boys in one direction while Anko led the girls to another. Once in their locations, the sensei they went with gave them their outfits for the mission, wrapped tightly in black bags that were sealed in scrolls before that moment.

While the boys were changing, Shino saw a moment to finally get the information he sought out of Naruto and asked, "Naruto, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Shino, go ahead," Naruto said cheerfully as he put on the orange suit.

"Well, I was wondering who first approached who between yourself and Hinata," Shino said, trying to see if he had won the bet.

"Oh, Hinata did," Naruto responded, thinking Shino meant who moved closer to who when he first came to life.

"I see..." Shino said, smirking at Kiba as he put on the dark green overcoat with the high collar.

"Are you going to get dressed yet, mutt?" Sasuke asked, getting irritated with Kiba for not changing yet, as the Inuzuka had been listening intently on the conversation.

"Okay, I'll change," Kiba groaned, upset that he lost the bet. Once he opened the bag to take out his suit, he shouted, "OH COME ON!"

"Do you hear that sound?" Anko asked the girls as they changed, "That is the sound of ultimate suffering. I hear that sound every day when I decide to visit my old teammate Ibiki."

"Does he hate you that much?" Sakura asked, horrified at such an idea.

"Oh, no, he's my best non-chuunin friend," Anko said,"It's a shame about our other teammate, though, he unexpectedly went crazy, but Ibiki's fine with me. He's just the head of the Torture and Interrogation Force, so I usually visit him in the middle of work."

"Oh, that makes sense," Sakura said as they finished getting ready.

As the ladies walked into the clearing, where the boys were already waiting, Kiba looking more reluctant than the others, each group looked at each other's clothes. All the boys were wearing suits and ties, with Sasuke in blue, Naruto in orange, and Shino in green with an overcoat with a high collar so he'd be comfortable. Kiba, meanwhile, was looking miserable in the hot pink tuxedo he was wearing. Kakashi was dressed in a plain black tuxedo with a red tie and an eye-patch, the surgical mask still on his face. The girls' dresses were equally as simple, with Sakura in red, Hinata in lavender, and Anko in a tan dress.

"Why do I have to wear the pink suit?" Kiba whined, looking more broody than Sasuke on the one day when he woke up bound and gagged in Sakura's closet, an situation that happened one time too many, in said emo's opinion.

"It's not pink," Kakashi lied, having bought it as part of an elaborate prank that he set up with Gai on Obito's birthday, "The salesman said it was salmon."

"Why can't someone else wear it?" the unfortunate boy protested.

"Because I said so," Kakashi responded, "Now let's move. We'll split up and pass off as visitors in this village, then we'll meet up in the evening to discuss if we've seen Tsunade, and we'll make our move in the morning, since the village doesn't let anyone out at night unless there's an emergency. Now, we'll enter within minutes of each other, or we'd be spotted. First, Sakura and Sasuke, then Naruto and Hinata, later followed by Kiba and Shino, followed by Anko and myself. Sakura and Sasuke, you're a young couple who just barely made it into the village. Anko and I will be a pair of newlyweds. Naruto and Hinata, you two are celebrating your betrothal. Kiba and Shino, do whatever you want, as long as you don't break cover. Are there any questions about the arrangement?"

Kiba raised his hand, prompting Kakashi to amend his statement and say, "Any questions not about getting a new partner in this mission?"

Kiba dropped his hand. With that, Sakura and Sasuke left, acting the part they had been assigned.

* * *

><p>"Oh my goodness!" Sakura shouted, faking panic as they approached the gate quickly, "We're going to be late!"<p>

"We'll make it. Don't worry, darling," Sasuke said, already feeling his reputation as a strong, silent type being shattered.

"Hello, are you here for the festival?" a guard said cheerfully.

"Yes," Sakura said, "We didn't miss it, did we?"

"Don't worry," the guard said, still sounding as happy as can be, "You made it just in time."

"Oh, thank Kami-sama," Sakura said, sounding relieved, "I was worried that we were late."

"Well, carry on," the guard said, letting them pass. Minutes later, Naruto and Hinata arrived at the gate, hand in hand.

"Hello, are you here for the festival?" the guard asked.

"Yes we are," Hinata said cheerfully, "We just worked out the arrangements and we're betrothed. My father agreed and everything!"

"Well congratulations!" the guard smiled, letting them in, "Enjoy the festival!"

Minutes later, an unwilling Kiba was being dragged by Shino to the gate. Once they made it, the guard asked, "A bit nervous at being seen in public? Don't worry, we don't care about your preferences here."

"It's not like that," Kiba protested, "He's my heterosexual life partner."

Shino, having been annoyed by Kiba stalling and complaining this entire time, decided to have his revenge then and there, and so he said in his usual tone, "Honey, don't be so shy. Didn't you hear them? They don't care about our relationship. Now, come on. We've got some sights to see."

It was a traumatized Kiba who was dragged into the village, cursing his misfortune. After a few minutes, Kakashi and Anko arrived, both smiling in their own ways.

"Um, hello, are you here for the festival?" the guard asked, looking a bit terrified.

"Yes, yes we are," Kakashi said, "We recently got married, and so we came here to celebrate."

"Ah," the guard said, feeling more confident at that statement, "Alright, but as a security measure, I have to ask that you remove your surgical mask, so that we can tell that you're not a missing nin."

"He's not," Anko said cheerfully, "My husband is just a bit of a germaphobe, ever since he lost his eye to infection."

"Oh!" the guard responded quickly, "I am so sorry, sir! Please just go on ahead."

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi said, "You didn't know."

With that, Anko and Kakashi entered the village. Phase One was complete.


	19. Chapter 19

A Hero

Chapter 19

I don't own Naruto in any way, shape or form. Not in any way whatsoever, so if anyone told you otherwise, they clearly have decided to deceive you. Sorry about how quick it is. I'm barely free of the writer's block for this story.

As they danced at the fair that had been set in the village, Sasuke and Sakura were surreptitiously looking around to see if their quarry was nearby.

"Do you see any sign of what we're here for?" Sasuke asked, trying to communicate in a way that wasn't directly stating what he meant.

"Nothing, Sasuke-kun," Sakura responded simply as she used a twirl to look around, "Do you think our friends have had any luck?"

"I think they're doing as well as we are," Sasuke answered, dipping Sakura, which gave her a view of the and balconies, "But that's not important at the moment. Let's just keep dancing for now."

* * *

><p>Kakashi and Anko, meanwhile, were using their years of stealth training under their respective mentors to try to scope out the perimeter, in case Tsunade had caught wind of their presence.<p>

"Well," Anko remarked when they melded into a new crowd, "This has got to be the second most romantic date we've had."

"And what would you say is the most romantic?" Kakashi inquired, curiosity piqued by Anko's statement.

"That time in Iwa," she responded instantly, a grin spread across her face.

"The last time or the time with the tags?" he asked, recalling two separate events.

"The one with the tags," she responded, spotting someone who looked like Tsunade's assistant, Shizune, "I think I see an old friend of ours."

"Really? Where?" he asked, despite having spotted her right when Anko told him. They were both considered skilled at infiltration for a reason, after all.

"Over there," Anko pointed, "let's follow and see if it's really her."

* * *

><p>Kiba was not enjoying himself. Shino, on the other hand, was having a very good time via his teammate's discomfort and irritation. As the pair were wandering around, Shino was making sure that no girl would approach Kiba as they continued their search. Kiba's annoyance at this amused Shino. Their target had yet to be seen, but, to Shino's growing merriment, which he was not revealing outwardly, a group of girls their age were coming.<p>

"Well, darling," the Aburame said in his usual monotone as the young women got within hearing range, "I think that we should do some more sight-seeing."

It was a good day for Kiba's tormentor, even if they hadn't spotted their target just yet.

* * *

><p>Naruto and Hinata, meanwhile, were walking through the village, observing the crowds as they moved. It was a rather peaceful time, and thus Hinata was surprised when Naruto broke the comfortable silence and asked, "Hinata, why are there so many people walking in pairs. Is this entire village being infiltrated?"<p>

"No, it's not infiltrated, Naruto-kun," she responded, keeping her grip on his hand, "They're walking like that because they're celebrating."

"Oh," the blond replied, "Should we be celebrating as well?"

"At the very least, we should seem like we are," Hinata whispered honestly, "We need to make sure that no one suspects us to be hiding anything."

"That might be a problem," Naruto said cautiously, "I am, by nature, unable to lie. As a result, I believe that I am only going to be a hindrance to the mission."

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun," Hinata said gently, "I doubt that anyone will ask us any questions."

"Okay, then," the blond replied, still somewhat disturbed by the likelihood his inability to lie being a hindrance to Hinata at some point in this mission. Idly, his eyes began to seek out the target, only to see an odd sight. Two people were pressing their mouths together softly with their eyes closed. Contemplating Hinata's advice from moments ago, he decided to act on this information.

* * *

><p>When it came time for the group to meet in a hotel room Kakashi had rented for the evening, they were each in rather different states. Sakura and Sasuke were the same as always; peacefully coexisting and glad of each other's company. Kakashi and Anko seemed more serious than the group had ever seen them, though they didn't seem to be worried, seeming to be using a more professional behavior. Hinata and Naruto entered hand in hand, though Hinata's face was cherry red for some reason that Sakura wanted to ask her about. Then Kiba and Shino entered.<p>

"I've never been so humiliated in my life," Shino commented in his usual monotone, yet still sounding mocking, "Flirting with girls when you're pretending to date me."

"Don't bring that up again," Kiba said, looking strangely unnerved and passive, "How you've been able to keep that up without laughing is starting to scare me. Can we go the heterosexual life partners route next time?"

"That all depends on you," Shino said evenly, "Should you annoy me again, I will ensure that you will suffer much greater humiliation."

"Hinata, why are you so red?" Sakura asked. The Hyuuga heiress would have responded, had Kakashi not cut of the conversation.

"Keep your voices down and your minds on the task at hand," Anko said, her tone neutral, "Has anyone gotten any information that would pertain to the mission?"

"The village goes on full lock-down at ten at night," Kiba said, having remembered getting that bit of information from a shopkeeper he and Shino discreetly questioned.

"There's only one entrance and exit in the village," Sakura added, "and that's the front gate, though getting over that wouldn't be a problem for a ninja of the target's skill and control."

"The target will not be permitted to leave using any method that requires chakra because anyone who enters or exits this village is required by law to use the gates, which are closed until 8:00 in the morning," Hinata said.

"And the target's staying at the inn next to this one," Kakashi added, "A confrontation will follow at 0800 Hours, for which every single squad member must be on time, including myself. Now, as there is no further business, this meeting is adjourned. Meet at the gate at 0750 Hours and be well rested."


	20. Chapter 20

A Hero

Chapter 20

I don't possess any type of ownership over the series Naruto or any characters or events therein. Really, that's all that needs to be said.

It was still dark out when the group had arrived at the gate dressed in their usual outfits. It was also early enough that the gate guards wouldn't care about ninjas leaving their village. As such, they were waiting for the exact moment that their target would come into sight. Fortunately for them, they didn't have to wait very long for the two people in question to arrive.

"Tsunade Senju of the Legendary Sannin, as per the parameters of our mission for the village of Konohagakure no Sato, we are here to inform you that you are to be brought back to the village," Anko said simply as the blond and her assistant arrived.

"I'm not going back to that place," she replied with irritation, observing the group assembled, despite the obvious desire on her apprentice's face, "It's taken everything from me."

"No it hasn't. You're still living," the one that looked like Minato replied, his eyes suddenly becoming piercing as he focused on the slug summoner, "Your apprentice is still alive. Your sensei isn't dead either, and one of your teammates, who is still loyal to Konoha still draws breath. It seems to me that you're better off than a good number of the people here."

"Do tell," Tsunade responded in annoyance. Who was he to claim that her pain wasn't as sharp as that of others?

"Do I have your permission, everyone?" the blond inquired, turning to the group, his entire face frozen in an expression that looked as etched out of stone as the rest of his actual body. When he got responses to the affirmative, he continued, "Kakashi Hatake lost every one of his teammates in combat, his father committed suicide when he was a child, and when he finally was able to come to terms with that, the first person he ever considered a friend died in combat before his eyes, giving him the eye he's so famous for, he also had his sensei simply vanish from the face of the earth one day. Anko Mitarashi was the student of Orochimaru who's trust he betrayed in what was definitely one of his crueler acts. Both of them have continued to this day to bleed for Konoha, and will bleed for Konoha.

"Sasuke Uchiha, meanwhile, was betrayed by his own brother, the man who killed his own clan for power, yet continues to work for the village despite the traumatic experience. While the Hyuuga clan has been improving, Hinata has had to watch someone she calls her brother due to how close she is to him travel around with what amounts to an explosive torture device branded into his forehead, all while she herself is under the all-seeing scrutiny of her entire clan, who are all trying to force her to become the best head they could have, which she could easily become because of her desire to continue. And rounding out the group of those who've suffered, there's me. I'm a lump of rock that is lucky to have even come to life, considering that there have been several souls in it before me who never were free. The soul before me wanted to get married but got sealed away because he'd outlived his usefulness, and out of all of my predecessors, he was the lucky one. That's the luckiest fate that is waiting ahead of me; being able to live long enough for my life to mean something, then to disappear into a statue once more once I outlived my usefulness. I have no real family to speak of, and the first being I ever knew had vanished after informing me that I could wind up being unable to move for the entirety of my life if there was nothing that needed to be saved. Despite this, I've been making friends and I will defend Konoha until the day I get sealed. So tell me, Tsunade Senju, how is it that you, granddaughter of a Hokage, beloved student of the current Hokage, who was gifted with the right to travel with an apprentice who cares for you, and who has a teammate who wishes nothing but the best for you, have had everything taken from you by the village that would give anything to bring you back? Our mission, for which the people taking it admittedly have an ulterior motive, was merely an excuse for the Hokage to bring back his student. He wants to see the child he thought was special. Unfortunately, even if we do best you in combat and bring you with us, as we would be required to do should you refuse to go with us, all we'd be bringing before this man who misses his student is a spiteful child who wants to slowly poison herself to death. Is that what you want the man who loved you like a daughter to see? You were great once, Tsunade Senju, and you can be great again. Come home. Forget your anger, become who you used to be, and just come home."

The area was silent. No one knew what to say to that. He had laid bare things that those assembled hadn't ever actually spoken of with others, and while doing so had managed to praise them and defy Tsunade's argument. No one dared to make a move, unsure of what to do.

Hinata was the first to move, heading to the statue and taking his hand in a comforting gesture. When his face softened as he looked at the Hyuuga, the assembled group once more settled into a more eased state, still waiting for the legendary medic's response.

"Shizune, come on," Tsunade said, turning to the young woman holding the pig, "We're heading home."

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune inquired, looking at her mentor incredulously.

"You heard me," the slug summoner replied with a smirk, "I think it's about time I checked in with Sarutobi-sensei."


	21. Chapter 21

A Hero

Chapter 21

I don't own Naruto. Other than that, I don't really have much to say for this disclaimer except "Welcome... To the Exam Arc." And with that, I also have to say I don't own Jurassic Park.

The return trip to Konoha was rather simple, as there was no one attempting to attack them as they traveled. As a result, the trip was quick compared to most trips. When the group finally managed to make it to the village, they were greeted by a concerned Kurenai.

"Are you all alright?" she asked, inspecting her charges carefully as Anko snickered at her friend's panic, "Were there any A-ranked missing nin?"

"It was a simple C-Rank, Kurenai," Kakashi said, "To be honest, the most dangerous person we came across is standing with us right now. Now, I think we should probably submit our mission statements. I'll have them back to you as soon as possible."

While Kurenai speechlessly watched as the Legendary Tsunade Senju walked with an assistant, a pig, and the combined teams to reach the Hokage Tower. She didn't believe that there really was a pig. That would be too odd for her to understand, which meant that it couldn't be real. She was, of course, forgetting the boy who turned to stone in front of her some time ago.

The reunion between the Professor and one of his wayward students was one of the most touching sights Naruto had ever seen. Unfortunately, this moment was spoiled by the arrival of another of his students.

"It seems that almost all the old team's back here," the toad summoner said, entering through a window, "Is the Snake-Traitor hiding in here too?"

"I was hoping that you could tell me about that, Jiraiya," Hiruzen said, once more bearing a professional demeanor.

"I lost the trail some time back," Jiraiya replied grudgingly, "He gave me the slip on the way through Rice Country. Rumor has it that there's a new hidden village there, so he might be hiding out there to plan his next move, but I haven't heard much else about that village."

"I take it that you are Jiraiya the Toad Sage?" the blond boy in the room commented, looking at the man carefully.

"I see my reputation precedes me," Jiraiya said cheerfully, "but who are you?"

"I'm the new champion of Konoha," the blond smiled, "And my predecessor told me to call you Ero-sennin."

At that nickname, the spymaster paused and looked at the blond intently. Similar hair, similar skin tone and eye color, and that exact same smile. The only things differentiating him from his former pupil were the shape of the eyes and the whiskers on his cheeks. His eyes widening, Jiraiya stepped closer to the boy, a name he hadn't said in years leaping unbidden from his mouth.

"Minato?" he asked, despite his doubt that it was really his student come back to life.

"My name is Naruto, but he was the one that taught me about the world," the blond said, "He told me that if I was brought to life I was supposed to to inform you that he said, 'Thank you for helping teach me how to be a human, even if it only lasted me a little while.'"

Jiraiya fell silent at that, unsure of how to proceed. Fortunately for him, the boy seemed to be more than able to talk.

"He was a good person," he said, "He's the one who told me what life would be like if I were able to come to life, and he did it as kindly as it could be said. If you're the one who made him into that person, then it's an honor to meet you."

"Why don't we talk later," the toad summoner said softly, "I don't think I'm ready to talk to you yet."

"Okay," the blond who looked painfully like Minato said as the two teams he arrived with exited the room, leaving the two Sannin with the Hokage to discuss security measures for the Chuunin Exams.

* * *

><p>As the teams and Anko exited the building, Naruto suddenly got excited and began running. Following the blond to see what was going on, the group were shocked to find a trio of Suna genin, consisting of a boy in a kabuki costume, a girl with four blonde pigtails, and a redhead with black circles around his eyes and a gourd on his back.<p>

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," Naruto said cheerfully, extending a hand to the redhead, much to the redhead's companions' shock, "These two statues haven't been near each other in a while, have they?"

"I... beg your pardon?" the redhead asked, "I do not understand your meaning."

"What do you mean you..." the blond began before his eyes once more turning feral, to everyone's shock. Turning to Kankuro with a snarl, his eyes reminding Kankuro of when Gaara was getting into a state of bloodlust, something that fortunately hadn't happened in a month, he asked, "So, puppeteer, how do you not notice something like this."

"W-what are you talking about?" he asked, not understanding what the blond had been talking about with his now equally confused brother.

"The seal on him was put by someone," the blond growled, "Can't you tell by the sand that's been occasionally falling off of him?"

"What are you talking about?" the girl asked, "Gaara's our brother, and we've never seen a seal on him."

"Yeah," Kankuro interjected, "He put that symbol on his forehead, himself and I don't think it's a seal."

"Wait," the blond said, his eyes suddenly turning blue again, "So neither of you knew that... Come with us. There's got to be a skilled seal master that's not busy around here somewhere."

"My father might be able to help," Hinata commented, "He has some skill with seals."

"Why would we need a seal master?" Gaara asked cautiously as Naruto began leading the group toward the village.

"I'll explain when we get there," he answered honestly, causing the Sand Trio to follow him.

"How do you know he has a seal if it's not visible?" Hinata asked, discreetly activating her Byakugan to see the seal on the redhead's back.

"Because of the sand that's falling off of him every once in a while before returning," Naruto said as he gently grabbed her hand, "That specific sand can only be found in the deserts of Suna in one place: the sandstone statue they have that's essentially Suna's version of me, which should have repaired if he'd manifested. The only thing he could be is the Shukaku container, and right now, that seal is threatening to completely wear him down to grains of sand."


	22. Chapter 22

A Hero

Chapter 22

I don't own Naruto. Other than that, there's not much else to say other than Hanabi's plans with her supplies will be apparent later. I promise next month's chapter will be written quicker than this month's and will be a bit longer.

When they finally reached the Hyuuga Compound, Naruto turned to the rest of the group and said, "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what's going on. Well, it's not a simple story, and I'll need to give you a demonstration for you to get the full effect."

With that, the blond forced himself into his stone form before once more reverting to his awakened state, he said, "Now, to begin, we have to go centuries into the past, when the Sage of Six Paths separated the pieces of the Juubi into nine separate souls. Meanwhile, the Hidden Villages were forming at the same time. The Kami, not wanting to be uninvolved and unwilling to simply allow these souls to wander and possibly cause damage, whether intentional or not.

"As a result, the souls were claimed by several Kami, who picked their territory at the same time. Inari, for example, chose Konohagakure no Sato, and claimed Kurama, better known as the Kyuubi no Yoko, as their chosen soul. Nine statues were made, placed in locations where they would be found only by those in need. These statues, however, were blessed by the Kami. with the ability to have souls in them, with the soul dying after the next one formed in a process that could last lifetimes. The statue uses the power of the demon in question as their primary chakra source. For example, I'm the container of Kurama and I am made of slate."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with our brother?" Kankuro asked, confused by the blond seeming to change the subject.

"Well, in Suna, Hachiman is the Kami who claimed the village as his protectorate and took Shukaku as his chosen soul, with the statue being sandstone," Naruto elaborated "The statue that comprises my body has met the sandstone statue long ago, allowing this statue to recognize the sandstone statue's base under the appearance being alive gives. Said statue is currently awake.

"And he's standing right in front of me."

At that statement, Temari and Kankuro turned toward their brother in confusion before Temari said, "That can't be right. Gaara's been with us since he was a baby."

"And that's where this story gets interesting," the blond statue said, "You see, the statues lose the demon when the Kami they belong to calls the demon back, right after the crisis has been dealt with. The problem is that some waste of human material evidently created a blasphemous seal that traps the demon inside the container, preventing Shukaku from leaving. At this point, he's probably in pain from how much restriction is on him. Essentially, whoever was in there before Gaara probably died in Shukaku's efforts to do as his instincts told him. Even worse, Shukaku probably doesn't even have a thimbleful of human chakra to back him up by this point, so he's just burning through the stone with his own chakra to keep it running. In other words, think of Gaara as a glass and Shukaku as a singer hitting just the right note, but in this case, Gaara's a statue and the notes are being hit by someone in agony screaming for help. If we don't get the seal off of Gaara's back, then he'll crumble to dust and both of them could die. Now, keep moving. We've delayed as long as we can. We need someone to help inspect this seal."

* * *

><p>Hiashi was sitting in his office with nothing needing his attention. Hinata was going to return from her mission today alongside the statue boy, Neji was with his teammates, and Hanabi had wandered off somewhere with enough traps to make an impenetrable fortress. Sitting back in his chair, Hiashi was convinced that he would be able to relax for the time being. It was, of course, at this moment that nine children entered his office. Two of them were from the aforementioned quartet of people who he had been relieved to be temporarily free of.<p>

"What is going on?" he asked, looking at his daughter for answers.

"Father, these three are Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro," Hinata responded, "Gaara is like Naruto-kun, but he has a dangerous seal on his back. Naruto-kun said he needs someone skilled with seals to help him."

"If we're lucky, it's a simple enough matter," Naruto said, "But I need an expert's opinion on the seal to make sure I'm reading it correctly. If I'm right, it's an odd numbered binding seal over an even numbered seal that's designed to specifically hold Shukaku."

"Show me the seal," Hiashi said, "I don't know much about storage seals, but I can try to help as much as I can."

"Gaara, would you mind uncovering the seal on your back?" Naruto asked. Not even bothering to try to dispute the blond's statement.

When he revealed the mark on his back, Naruto grimly remarked, "It looks like I might have been right about the configuration."

"Indeed," Hiashi said, activating his Byakugan to observe the seal better, "I see the name and I recognize the form of binding, as it's similar to the one that comprises the core of the Caged Bird Seal of my clan. Unfortunately I don't know how to undo it."

"I know a way to remove that seal from him," Naruto remarked, "the problem is the name seal. I can think of a ways that could work, but that attempt could either save Gaara or turn him back to stone. It's never been used before, so I'm not sure what could happen"

"That is a rather disparate set of possibilities," Gaara noted, "Nevertheless I am willing to do it."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked.

"It would stop the screaming. While I kill my opponents, I am not fond of the idea of putting someone in a lifetime of torment," he responded in a flat monotone, "What is it you would need to do?"


	23. Chapter 23

A Hero

Chapter 23

I don't own Naruto. There really isn't much else for me to say on the matter other then I am so sorry this chapter is late. I was delayed for some time by other things.

The ritual to remove the seal from Gaara was, according to Naruto, extremely complicated and surprisingly simple. Most of what the blond was doing was impossible for even Hiashi, who'd grown up with a fair amount of knowledge when it came to seals, to understand just what the blond was doing with the tools he gathered. Why he needed to have a chisel, he didn't fully understand, but he supposed that dealing with seals on statues needed to use things that didn't make sense to humans. After the tools were gathered, the Hyuuga clan head left the room, not wanting to interfere.

Turning to the Temari and Kankuro, Naruto said, "It's actually very lucky that you two are here with him. if not for you two, this extremely dangerous, highly experimental attempt to save Gaara would be even more dangerous. Gaara, any time you're ready, just lay down on the table and uncover the seal on your back again."

Not bothering to say a word, Gaara simply exposed the mark.

"Now, as I said, it's a good thing you're here," Naruto repeated, "I'm going to need your help with something, puppeteer."

"What do you need me for?" Kankuro asked, concerned for his brother.

"As soon as I put this chisel on the table I'm going to need you to use chakra strings to move it exactly as I tell you to, without any delay or mistake whatsoever," Naruto said, carving a seal into the side of said chisel, "Once you have your string attached to it, only touch where I say to move the chisel. Do not try to grab it, and when your done, toss it into the fire Sasuke's just made. Under no circumstance are you to let it get it to touch anything or anyone other than Gaara's seal. If it does. . . Just don't let it touch anything. The seal array I made might be volatile towards anything not keyed into it. The most I could fit into it that wasn't Gaara or the seal array on his back was chakra. Temari, keep close to Gaara. You'll need to pump chakra into him when I give you the word."

With that, Naruto finished his carving and quickly tossed it onto the table before stepping back, looking a bit fatigued.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, putting her hand on his shoulder in concern as his teammates looked on in concern.

"I am okay," he replied, leaning slightly on Hinata, "It did not hurt too badly. I'm just a little tired. That seal is a bit complicated. Thanks for the concern, though."

"Okay, I've got it," Kankuro said, getting a good grip with his chakra string, "Now what?"

"You see that writing in the center of the seal?" Naruto asked, pointing at the location, "The one that, if you look at it carefully enough, spells Shukaku?"

"Yes," Kankuro said, positioning the chisel above it.

"Use the chisel to cut against the marks around it. Do not touch the writing at all for now," the blond said, "Temari, stand by until I give you instructions. Gaara, I'm afraid that this will probably hurt."

With that, Kankuro began to do as he told, taking great pains to not hit the writing while he silently thanked Chiyo for teaching him precision when it came to working with chakra strings. Meanwhile, on the table Gaara winced slightly as he felt the chisel and the chakra it was being held by cut the marks on his back.

"Okay, I've got it, now what?" the puppeteer asked, lifting the chisel off of his brother.

"You see the circle attached to the remaining lines?" Naruto asked, standing under his own power, "Break it, but don't touch anything except the point where you break the circle. Then remove it and wait for my instructions."

Nodding his agreement, Kankuro set to do just as he was told, placing the chisel directly on the circle, cutting it before he once again raised the chisel, leaving only the name behind.

"Good, now this next part is where you come in, Temari," Naruto said, "If I'm right, then this should work. Put your hand on Gaara and when Kankuro begins cutting, start pumping a small amount of chakra into him. That should be enough to stabilize him. Kankuro, slowly cut a straight horizontal line crossing the name, now. After that, you need to toss it into that fire."

As both took their positions, Naruto watched intently without blinking, attempting to ensure that it worked. Slowly, Kankuro began to makes the cut, starting from the beginning to the end of the name. As he did that, Temari slowly pumped a little chakra into her youngest brother, unsure of exactly what it would do.

Once the process was complete, Kankuro used his chakra string to place the chisel in the fire, burning the wooden handle enough to destroy the seals carved onto it. To everyone's shock, Gaara suddenly seemed to pass out, going as limp as a fish.

With their brother's apparent death, Kankuro and Temari suddenly became hostile, drawing their weapons as they prepared to battle the group in front of them.

As everyone except Naruto prepared for battle, the blond kept his eye on the redhead, stepping between Hinata and the pair as he watched for a sign of life.

"This is impossible, incongruent with anything rational," the blond muttered, "he would be stone once more if it were such a situation as it would appear to be."

As the group began their fight, a sudden cough caused them all to pause as Naruto said, "There. There's the sign of life."

"Minato?" the redhead asked, his monotone voice speaking with vitality despite its slightly weakened state.

"No, not Minato," the blond responded gently, "I'm Naruto. I am the new soul of this body, as Gaara is the newest host of yours."

"I see," the redhead said, "I suppose my age is over. I've been forced to linger for too long, now. It's time for me to leave. Tell the new soul that this era is his. Even if you aren't us, please give my regards to the Yondaime Kazekage. He deserves it for what he's done to me and Shukaku, as well as the new soul. Farewell."

With those last words, Gaara's body went limp for a few seconds, only for him to once more regain his usual posture as he said, "Thank you, Naruto. I feel better than I have before. The screams have stopped as well. Temari, Kankuro, let's return to where we will be staying. I would like to attempt to sleep for the first time in my life."


	24. Chapter 24

A Hero

Chapter 24

I don't own Naruto. To say otherwise would be wrong. It would be inaccurate. It would be a falsehood, a prevarication. In other words, it would not be correct to say I owned Naruto. That is all. Also, please note that the weight Sakura gave Naruto was a ball-park estimate that came up with for the sake of the story, and not an actual weight for a slate statue of his size.

Naruto and his teammates were once again sparring as they waited for Kakashi to arrive, as he was as late as usual. Right when Sakura was about to extend for a powerful strike, the jounin arrived, signaling the end of the match she was having with Sasuke.

"Sorry I'm late, but you'll all probably be happy to know why I'm so late this time," Kakashi began, walking towards them with papers in his hand, "As I told you three earlier, the Chuunin Exams are starting this week, and I think that you all have a chance of passing them. These papers are your entry forms that make it so that you can participate in them. Each of you take one and fill out your personal information the way that it says you should."

With that, the trio each took a form and a writing utensil and began filling out the forms. It was literally seconds before Naruto asked, "What do I put under surname?"

"I don't know," Kakashi admitted, "Minato-sensei didn't have a last name, or at least he never gave one. Maybe you can go with Kushina's last name. . . ?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," the blond mused, "It feels. . . right. I like it."

His name determined, Naruto Uzumaki continued, only to wind up needing to ask another question.

"What do I put under Date of Birth?"

"Whatever time you woke up," Kakashi replied, trying to simplify things.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. How much do I weigh?" the blond inquired, not knowing how to figure that out.

"About nine hundred pounds," Sakura answered nonchalantly, "Give or take a few pounds."

"Thank you," Naruto responded as the rest of the team felt a newfound respect for Sakura's strength, considering that she could throw him with absolutely no problem, "I think I'll put the colors that I have for my hair and eyes when I'm awake under those categories. I don't believe I have any pre-existing medical conditions that would bar me from performing during the exams. . ."

After several minutes of this, the group finally completed the paperwork and handed the forms to Kakashi. Gathering the papers up in order, their sensei said, "Alright. There's not much else for you to do today, so I guess you're all dismissed for the day so you can prepare for the Exam. If you need help with anything, I'll probably be at the Hokage Tower for quite a bit of time, since I have a lot more to do before you're all registered for the test."

With that said, the jounin performed a Shunshin and vanished from sight, headed towards the Hokage Tower. The trio looked at each other for a while, not sure of what to do when Sasuke spoke up for the first time and asked, "So now what?"

"I think we've done enough training for the day, so why don't we just head out," Sakura said, waiting for Sasuke to drop his guard as she slowly moved to pounce upon him.

"I think I'll go look for Team Eight, then," Naruto replied, preparing to head out.

"You spend so much time with them," Sasuke smirked, "Are you sure you don't secretly want to be part of that team instead?"

"No," the blond responded in a straightforward tone, the joke evidently lost on him entirely, "Team Seven is a rather good team to be a member of, and though I enjoy Hinata's company, I would rather remain on this team, as opposed to any other team in the shinobi forces of the village."

"It was a joke," Sasuke said amusedly, "Go ahead and hang out with your girlfriend."

"Very well," Naruto replied amiably, "I hope you both enjoy your game."

With that, the blond began to walk off while Sakura made her move on her kind-of-boyfriend. Unfortunately for the pink-haired girl, the last loyal Uchiha was alert this time, and therefore managed to snatch her out of the air and successfully defeat her for the first time in some time.

Naruto headed to Training Ground Eight as usual, but was stopped by a a familiar sight.

"Hello, Tenten and Neji," Naruto smiled, "Where are you jounin instructor and your other teammate?"

"Not sure," Tenten confessed, "They started getting too 'youthful,' so we left them to their own devices. How's your team doing? Are you ready for the Chuunin Exams?"

"I believe so," Naruto replied, "At the very least, it will give us a way of determining what our current capabilities are. How is your team?"

"We should be able to get fairly far into the Exam," Neji interjected, "Despite his. . . eccentricities, Gai-sensei is a very skilled instructor."

"So, what are you up to?" Tenten asked.

"I'm going to visit Team Eight," Naruto answered, "My team was dismissed for the day, so I decided that a visit was in order, especially since Sasuke and Sakura were playing their pouncing game."

"Well, don't let us keep you from your girlfriend," Tenten grinned, ruffling the blonds spiked hair, "See you later, Naruto."

"Goodbye Naruto," Neji nodded, heading out to train more.

"Goodbye Tenten and Neji," Naruto smiled, heading off to meet with Hinata and ask her what 'girlfriend' meant.

The blond's journey, however, was once again stopped when he encountered the trio from the day before.

"Naruto, we have something important to discuss," Gaara said while his siblings stood behind him, their expressions without any trace of mirth.


	25. Chapter 25

A Hero

Chapter 25

I do not in any way, shape, or form own Naruto. I don't think there's anything else to say about the matter, since that about sums it up entirely. This story is quickly approaching the actual Chuunin Exam. Also, what Hanabi had grabbed all the supplies for is finally revealed!

"What do you want to talk about?" Naruto asked in confusion, unsure of how else to respond.

"It is not particularly secure enough here to discuss the matter," Gaara responded simply, "Is there any secure location where we can go to have this conversation?"

"Follow me," Naruto said quietly, no longer having so much as a trace of confusion in his tone, "And be quick."

With that, he rushed off, moving quickly as they headed toward wherever it was he was leading them. Once they entered an empty clearing, surrounded by tall grass and clusters of ancient trees, Naruto turned to face them and asked, "There. No one knows this location, but it is where my stone was pulled from the ground before Inari first carved the form of a person into it. Now what is it that you needed to discuss with me?"

"I owe you a debt and, as you are as much a part of your village as I am a part of mine, I felt that the debt extended towards your nation," Gaara said, "Therefore, we have come to you to deliver a warning about a treachery that is coming to you."

"We'd have told your Hokage, but Gaara says he'd been forced to swear to never give away village secrets or permit them to be passed to another human being or summon during times of war," Temari added, "We tried to send one of Kankuro's puppets with a message to test the limits, but. . ."

"As you can imagine," Kankuro remarked, pulling out several large splinters of wood, "His reaction was not the best."

"I, on the other hand," Naruto interjected, understanding their reason for coming to him, "Am neither human nor a summons and have a more powerful demon sealed inside me, and would do everything in my power to deal with the matter. What is this message you need to to tell me?"

"Suna has allied itself with Oto," Gaara stated, "for reasons unknown, the ruler of Oto plans on destroying your village. The man we formerly called our father has allied our village with said village because our daimyo has been hiring shinobi from Konoha to do tasks instead of shinobi from Suna, thereby harming the economy of our village. They intend on staging an invasion during the Chuunin Exams."

"I see," Naruto said, calculating just how to best deal with the situation, "Continue with how his plan saw you three going for the most part. I will contact you all when I have a complete plan. Until then, your Kage has to believe that none of you are doing anything that could potentially hinder his plans. Am I understood?"

When he received three nods to show the affirmative, he continued, "We were here discussing Gaara's nature as a statue and all that it entails. Gaara, as a statue, you will not need to eat, but you can if you want to. Now that we're done here, have a good day."

With that, the blond once more returned to his usual cheerful state as he led them out, saying, "It was nice talking to you three. I hope we can see each other again soon."

The conversation completed and the trio gone, Naruto immediately headed toward the Hokage Tower to report what he had been told. It seemed, unfortunately, that he would be forced to return to stone sooner than he'd wanted to be.

* * *

><p>"Hokage-sama," the statue said as he entered the office, "I have important news to discuss."<p>

"Yes?" Hiruzen asked, surprised to see the blond enter without anyone accompanying him, "What is it?"

"It has been brought to my attention that the Kazekage has allied himself with the leader of Oto, and that their intention is to invade Konoha at some point during the Chuunin Exams."

"How did you come by this information?" Hiruzen asked, his attention completely on the blond in front of him.

"I recently helped my counterpart in Suna by having a dangerous seal removed from his person," Naruto began, speaking as informatively as he could, "As a result, I was owed a debt, which my kind tend to repay during our lifetimes if we can, as it wouldn't be fair to keep it on the stone. Our replacements would have to deal with the matter, and if they don't, then it just stays there, marking the stone until no one remembers why it was there. At any rate, he decided to inform me of the issue, as he is as aware as I am that by paying a debt to the village of the statue as a whole, the debt is paid to the statue, as we are a part of our village, as set down by the Kami when they burned life into stone. That is where my information came from. The debt's been paid, and that is why I am here, Hokage-sama. Currently, the intent is to play things through so that our adversaries are unaware until a complete plan can be implemented."

"I see," Hiruzen said, processing what he'd been told with his usual ease in getting new information that proved to be very important, "Is that all?"

"That is all, Hokage-sama," the blond responded, nodding respectfully.

"Thank you, Naruto," Hiruzen said, "That will be all, then. I need to speak to several people. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Naruto smiled, exiting the room, once more heading to speak to Hinata.

As he walked, he noticed Hanabi walking with a writhing bundle over her shoulder.

"Hello, Hanabi. What is in the bundle?" he asked, approaching the child.

"Hi, Naruto," she grinned, "I have the Sandaime's grandson in this bundle. I'm going to teach him a lesson for spilling some paint on my dress three weeks ago."

"I see. . ." Naruto said, certain that she was making a joke, "Very well, I'll leave you to your business."

With that, he once again headed off to speak to Hinata. He was still curious as to what a 'girlfriend' was, and he wanted to discuss the news he'd gotten from Gaara with her.


	26. Chapter 26

A Hero

Chapter 26

I most assuredly do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. Anyone who says otherwise either has not been reading any of the twenty-five previous disclaimers for the chapters and this current one, or is deliberately lying for reasons that I do not understand. Where Kurenai went will be explained later on in the story, possibly in the next chapter if it fits into the story.

Naruto had finally made it to Training Ground Eight, after all the delays and visits he'd had to deal with along the way. Fortunately for him, they had just finished their training for the day, thereby leaving Hinata free to talk to her blond companion.

"Hello, Hinata," Naruto smiled as he approached the relaxed team, "Hello, Shino and Kiba."

"Hello, Naruto-kun," Hinata greeted, returning his smile.

"Hey, Naruto," Kiba grinned while Shino nodded in acknowledgment, "You're just in time. We finished up a bit ago and were about to leave. Kurenai-sensei's already headed out for some reason, so we figured that we were free to go. See you guys."

"Bye Kiba, bye Shino," Naruto replied as the duo left the field. Turning to Hinata, the blond statue said, "Hinata, I have something I need to talk to you about, but I think we need to go somewhere private to discuss the matter."

With that, the pair headed back to the Hyuuga compound, heading to the section of the garden where they usually spent their time together.

* * *

><p>"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, noticing that he looked out of sorts.<p>

"I've just gotten back from informing the Hokage of an invasion that was going to be attempted during the Chuunin Exams," Naruto replied, seating himself on the bench he used to sleep on, "As such, a potential crisis might be averted."

"That's good," Hinata said cautiously, trying to figure out what the problem was with an averted crisis.

"I agree, though I suspect that there will be a combat situation with the invaders at some point," Naruto said, seeming to deflate at that, "That would mean I would be required to fight."

"I'm sure you won't be needed to fight," Hinata said, realizing what the problem was. She often forgot that he was a living statue unless he brought it up, and therefore often forgot why he was alive.

"I am required to go into a battle to protect the village by my very nature," Naruto said dully, "Due to the fact that I am a statue that was created to protect Konoha, should any force, foreign or domestic attempt to cause problems for the village, I will be compelled to fight of the invaders and get resealed once the battle was over. After that, I will once again become a lifeless statue with a soul inside. It will be nice to watch the tree grow again. It was my favorite thing about being frozen in place."

"I wouldn't let you go," Hinata said firmly, "Even if I have to get everyone else to restrain you, you're not going to go to your death if I have anything to say about it."

"How would you be able to stop me?" he asked sadly, "I was created to defend the village and will be compelled to go, even if I attempted to remain outside of the battle."

"I don't know what I'll do, but if that happens I'll make sure you can't go. Maybe I can get the others to help me hold you in place so you can't run," she replied, trying to come up with a means to keep him safe.

"What if my compulsion makes me use Hiraishin?" he inquired, intrigued by her words. He desperately wanted to believe what she said, but he couldn't see how they were possible.

"I'll latch onto you with my chakra so you can't get rid of me, then go with you so I can keep you away from the fight," she said gently, seating herself beside him as she grabbed his hand, "I'm not going to just let you get sealed away, Naruto-kun."

"Thank you, Hinata," he said, unsure of what else to say, "It feels good to know you care that much."

"You're my friend, Naruto-kun," she said enveloping him in a comforting hug, "I would feel terrible if you didn't get to enjoy life the way everyone else does. I care about you."

"That reminds me," the blond said, feeling better enough to recall the mystery that had plagued him before he had been told of the invasion, "What's a 'girl friend?' The definitions of the two words imply a young female associate who one enjoys the company of, but the tone used each time I've heard it makes it seem like the phrase means something more."

Hinata fell silent for a moment as she broke the hug, caught off-guard by the change of subject and the unexpected question. Concerned for his friend, Naruto asked, "Hinata, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun," she responded, breaking from her stunned silence, "What was the question, again?"

"What's a girlfriend?" the blond statue repeated, "Sasuke and Tenten called you my girlfriend."

"A girlfriend is a girl that a boy spend most of his time with," Hinata said carefully, "The boy, who's the girl's boyfriend, worries about her and she worries about him. They tend to prefer each other's company. The boyfriend and girlfriend tend to try to protect each other, even if they know they're able to take care of themselves, because they care about each other."

"Does that mean that you are my girlfriend?" he asked, "I do prefer your company to anyone else's and I spend most of my time with you."

"I'm not sure, Naruto-kun," she replied, her cheeks bright red, "That's your choice. Do you want me to be your girlfriend?"

"That sounds like something I would enjoy," he said, smiling gently at her as he took her hand. With that matter settled, the pair fell into a comfortable silence, each content with the other's presence.


	27. Chapter 27

A Hero

Chapter 27

I don't own Naruto. Anything in any part of this story that appears to dispute that fact needs to be reread, as it has clearly been misread, as there is nothing in the story that implies anything of the sort in the slightest. This chapter is sort of a filler, as it doesn't involve the main characters and is mostly setting up for the Chuunin Exams, which are drawing even closer.

While Naruto and Hinata's relationship hadn't changed much after they agreed to be in a relationship, as Hinata had not told everything about the relationship between boyfriends and girlfriends, their acquaintances and teammates could easily tell that things were different. In Team Seven, both of Naruto's fellow students and their jounin instructor noticed that their blond teammate seemed to be more cheerful, even when they did the Tora mission in between spars and training sessions in preparation for the Chuunin Exams and the potential invasion, which Naruto had privately informed them of. Team Eight, meanwhile, had noticed that Hinata became more focused in her practice, though she was also more cheerful. Despite the increase in training and missions for preparations, however, the pair still managed to have time with one another.

* * *

><p>As this was going on, Hiruzen was doing his best to less any damage that could happen, setting up undercover Anbu to infiltrate the buildings where several of the incoming teams would be staying, ordering others to increase security, and removing members who weren't fully healthy from the roster of those who would be working security. As such, Hayate found himself being told by the Hokage that he would only be on hand as a proctor of the test, not getting involved in any potential stealth missions, as, despite his proficiency with stealth, a single cough could jeopardize the entire scenario. This decision was met with the relief of Hayate's lover, Yuugao Uzuki, who used that as an excuse to drag him to a hospital for medical attention.<p>

Despite his precautions, Hiruzen felt that extra measures needed to be taken, though he didn't have any further means available to him. However, he did know someone who did. . .

* * *

><p>It was thus that Danzo Shimura found himself shocked when his rival and old friend Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting in the office he kept in the hidden ROOT facility.<p>

"How did you. . .?" he began, only for Hiruzen to raise his hand for him to be silent.

"Did you really think you could hide something like this in this village?" Hiruzen asked, "I learned about it years ago, but since you take care to recruit willing orphans and never experiment on them so that you can be certain that ROOT would be a legal organization if you get exposed, I can't officially do anything to you, as the village charter forbids me from _officially_ having someone executed without a legally just cause."

The casual threat in those words would have frozen Danzo's own tongue, but a realization dawned on him. Voicing the epiphany, he said, "Something very detrimental to the village is going to happen, soon, isn't it, Hiruzen?"

"That's what I'm here to discuss with you," Hiruzen replied calmly, "A united force from the villages of Suna and Oto are potentially preparing to invade the village, using the Chuunin Exams to set up the entire ordeal."

"I was worried you would same something to that effect," Danzo remarked wearily, "I hadn't heard about the possible invasion before now, however. I suppose that you trust your source? Given that you've been giving orders that make formations of Anbu teams in the village I haven't seen in use since the last War, you've come for more than trying to see if I have any information."

"I need you to move some of those under your command around these points to defend the civilians as the need arises," Hiruzen commanded, his tone allowing for no argument, let alone so much as a sound of protest from the heavily bandaged man, "Also, I want you to use others of your subordinates to ensure that the security around the vulnerable members of clans of interest to the other villages is strong enough to deter attackers. We don't have any reason to suspect that any of the other villages are involved. . ."

". . .But they could and very likely would at the very least attempt to use the confusion as a means to take a member of the clans without notice," Danzo cut in, recognizing that as something he would have done for the good of the village, "I'll send a few of them to do that. Is there anything else?"

"You're surprisingly accommodating," the Professor remarked, "You would normally argue several points of commands like what I've ordered."

"Konoha wasn't in the process of getting ready for an invasion," Danzo replied dryly, "We may not see eye to eye on most things, but I believe that we can both agree that we don't want the village destroyed. I find it safe to say that protecting the village is the first item on both of our list of priorities. Is there anything else?"

"Not at the moment," the Sandaime Hokage responded, "I'll let you know if some new information presents itself and if you need to move the people under your command."

With that, the God of Shinobi, having made his intent clear and finding his greatest detractor willing to do as he was commanded, strode out of the most secure room in the most secret building in the village unhindered, off to continue with his preparations.

Once Danzo was certain that the Professor was gone, he sat down in his chair to begin determining which formations would be best for this sort of situation, and just how many 'civilians' he was going to plant throughout the village. As for the other part, most of the vulnerable members of the clans were children, so the younger members of ROOT would be of use in this matter. The best way to keep the children under observation without catching suspicion was for their minders to be beneath notice, and many people considered children to be just that, often before they were bested by them.

All that the old war hawk knew for certain was that things were going to bear greater watching at the Exams than he had intended to give them originally.


	28. Chapter 28

A Hero

Chapter 28

I don't own Naruto as every single disclaimer in this story can attest. Anyone who says otherwise is giving you either false or incorrect information. And so the Exams finally begin in this story. . .

As days always do, the day of the Chuunin Exam finally came to pass. Students of every village represented had arrived, and had begun filing into the building where they would get the written part of the exam.

"So, why exactly is the written test administered in this building?" Naruto asked as Team Seven walked through the entrance.

"It's the only one large enough to house the maximum number of participants for a village," Sakura said, recalling one of the things she'd read about the Exam, "Normally, with Kiri coming as well, there would be a larger crowd, but due to the civil war in that village, there aren't any candidates ready, since many got battlefield promotions."

"Oh," Naruto replied, nodding his head in understanding, "And we're supposed to go to Room 302?"

"Exactly," Sasuke replied, "You know these things already, so why are you asking?"

"I just wanted to verify what I remembered," the blond shrugged.

"Stupid Chuunin Exams," one of two apparent Konoha genin in front of a door marked as Room 302 muttered to his friend.

"I know," the other replied, "Why does the Exam have to be so difficult?"

"Excuse me," Sakura interrupted, "Could you get rid of that genjutsu already?"

"So you noticed it. . ." Kotetsu remarked as he and Izumo dropped the genjutsu they had set up, revealing the room they were in front of to be Room 301, "Good work."

"You're going to need more of that when you go through the rest of the Exam," Izumo added as the trio turned to return to walking.

"Thank you for the advice," Naruto said amiably as they walked away from the pair.

To the trio's surprise, a green blur suddenly raced past them, only to stop and stop moving, revealing itself to be someone Naruto recognized as Neji and Tenten's teammate, Lee.

"You are the one who has been influenced by my sensei's Eternal Rival!" the spandex-clad boy greeted, pointing at Naruto dramatically, "I challenge you to a sparring match!"

"I do not believe that now is the correct time," Naruto remarked, "I'm not sure if the part of the test following the written exam would require chakra, so I suspect that neither of us would want to expend too much chakra."

"You are right, my youthful friend," Lee said, patting the blond on the back in a manner that would have possibly unintentionally harmed someone who wasn't made out of stone, "We should spare our youthful energies, though I must point out that I don't use any sort jutsu. I rely on physical strength. Another time, perhaps?"

"That should be fine," the blond replied.

"You actually talked Lee down from a spar without tricking him. . ." Tenten said incredulously as she and Neji walked up to Team Seven and their teammate, "No one but Gai-sensei has ever done that before. You've got to teach us how to do that."

"Hello, Tenten and Neji," the blond smiled as they all began to walk into Room 302, "I only spoke rationally."

"Hey, Forehead, Sasuke-kun, Naruto," Ino greeted the genin she recognized cheerfully, "Who are your new friends?

"Hello, Ino-Pig," Sakura replied, greeting her friend, "The two not dressed in green are apparently named Tenten and Neji, and the one in the green spandex is called Lee. Sasuke-kun and I just met them, but apparently, they know Naruto."

"Hello," Naruto said to the pair standing with Ino, "My name is Naruto. Who are you two?"

"I'm Chouji Akimichi, and this is my friend Shikamaru Nara," the round boy with the spirals on his cheeks answered, "I'd let him say his name, but I think that he'd just consider it 'too troublesome' to do so himself."

"Hello, Hinata-sama," Neji greeted the approaching team, "Kiba, Shino."

"Hey, everyone," Kiba greeted for his team as Hinata walked up to stand by Naruto.

"You are all calling quite a bit of attention to yourselves," an older silver-haired boy in glasses and a Konoha hitai-ate remarked, directing all of the group's attention to himself, "The others are going to think of you as easy to prey upon."

"Hello," Naruto greeted, "My name is Naruto, and I don't remember having met you before."

"My name is Kabuto," the boy greeted, "I've taken the exam seven times by now, so I've learned some things."

"I would expect so," Shikamaru commented, entering the conversation, "I take it the test is difficult?"

"It is rather hard," the boy replied, shaking his head, "But, I have these cards on everyone in the exams."

"They're blank," Naruto commented, "Is it some sort of seal making them look like that?"

"Very astute," Kabuto nodded, "they only show anything when my chakra is applied to them. Do you want to give them a try? Just describe whoever you want to research, and I'll try to find them. I've got information on members of every village except Sound, since they're a new village, so there wasn't much to find for them other than they're violent and dangerous."

"How do you have all the information that you have?" Hinata inquired, noticing something off about the entire situation.

"I've been in the Exams enough times to get this much info," Kabuto replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Before anyone could talk, a tall, scarred man with a bandana entered the room and said, "Alright, you punks, all of you have a seat and get ready for the test! You're going to be taking the written exam. If you get caught cheating, you'll lose a point. Lose three points, and you get kicked out. Well, what are you waiting for? Go sit down!"


	29. Chapter 29

A Hero

Chapter 29

I don't own Naruto. Anyone who tells you otherwise is misinforming you either intentionally or mistakenly. I couldn't have planned what's going down in the series if I were. Anko's line is, of course, her fantastic quote upon arrival at the Exams, as there's no way I can think of to top it. Also, the Forest of Death looms ever closer. . .

The written exam was something entirely new to Naruto. He had, of course, never taken one, as he had been a statue for most of his life, and during the time Minato was there, he mostly spoke of the things that would be important in combat, with some things on seals, letters, and numbers thrown into the mix so he could eventually learn. These, the blond learned by Minato presenting him with a mental impression of what the symbols looked like, then explaining what they represented. As a result of this, the blond was fascinated by the paper in front of him, as it asked questions involving some principles he'd learned and others he hadn't. He knew how to throw a kunai, but he did not know the physics of the parabolic arc it flew in, for example. As such, he answered the one question based on the practical aspects to the best of his abilities.

Despite this, he tried his hardest to try to figure out the equations. Beside him, Hinata was writing her answers calmly, working out what problems she could on her own, while also relying on her Byakugan to determine just who to copy off of, much like her cousin was. Tenten, meanwhile, had managed to sneak some wires onto the hidden mirrors that the instructors were using to observe the room, and was using them to spy on others while also helping Lee with his answers by adjusting the mirrors for him to also be able to see through them.

Ino, ever the Yamanaka, used her clan's technique to find the information and copy it off of others, while Shikamaru used his own clan's technique to give Chouji his answers. Elsewhere in the room, Sasuke had subtly activated his Sharingan, copying off of the nearby Kabuto. Sitting in yet another part of the room, Sakura finished up her exam, having quickly figured out the answers to the questions. She was not considered brilliant for nothing. Others continued to figure out who to cheat off of if they wanted the answers, but Naruto, honest as he was, could not contemplate the idea of cheating.

After a good amount of time with the only sound being the genin writing had passed, Ibiki shouted, "Alright, drop your writing utensils and listen up."

Once they all complied with his sudden demand, he continued, "Line up with your teammates and get ready for the tenth question, which will be given to you by me. This question will either make or break your team, because I'm adding a little twist that's never been done before. If you fail to answer the question properly, then you will be banned from ever participating in the Exams again, but if you leave now, your team will be disqualified, but will be able to take the test again at some point in the future. Anyone who wants out, raise your hand."

The room was completely silent, the tension in the air almost able to be cut with a kunai. After a moment, a few genin raised their hands and left with their teams. Before more than a handful had done so, Naruto asked, "I don't understand. Why would anyone want to leave now? Everyone here's come so far and have tried their hardest to get this far. Clearly, they've worked all the way up to this point, so what is there to be afraid of? They've proven themselves and have done their best, which must have been good enough for their instructors to think they could pass. I'm not afraid, and I doubt that many of them are, so, would you please present the final question?"

In that instant, the tension dispelled and no one else raised their hand. After a few seconds with no further surrenders, Ibiki smirked and said, "Everyone still in here has passed."

Waiting until the genin stopped clamoring in anger and shock he said, "The tenth question wasn't actually a question in the way you expected it to be. The tenth question was to test your resolve and your willingness to take risks in the face of nearly insurmountable odds. All of you stayed despite the possibility of failure, so you passed. In the field, a shinobi must be willing to go above and beyond. . ."

Whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by a tan blur bursting through the window before somersaulting and landing in front of a sign that unfurled and got pinned by a kunai as the blur came to rest, revealing a woman in a tan coat with purple hair.

Upon landing, the woman enthusiastically shouted, "Heads up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating! I'll be your next proctor. Anko Mitarashi. You ready for the second test? Good! Then let's go, follow me!"

"Anko, you're early," Ibiki said dryly, clearly irritated by the special jounin's unexpected arrival.

"Well, you seem to have left a lot of brats for me to have my fun with," she replied, none of her cheerfulness lost, "What are you all waiting for? Come on!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the office in the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi was once again talking to Danzo.<p>

"I'm not asking for you to let me put your ROOT agents under the direct command of myself and Anbu of my choosing," the third man to bear the title God of Shinobi said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I'm telling you what is going to happen if you don't want me to deal with you in an unofficial manner, after which I'll still do things my way."

"I can't spare the numbers," Danzo protested, "Even ROOT has a limited number of shinobi on hand at any given time."

"Which is why I'm going to take the ones that are on guard and perimeter duty," Hiruzen said, "Also, I'm going to need one of the ones you have who shows promise with seals. I need someone to help Jiraiya, and there isn't anyone I can spare at the moment."

"Fine," Danzo said, barely avoiding gritting his teeth, "I'll find someone to send. Is that all, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes," Hiruzen replied, "You're dismissed."


	30. Chapter 30

A Hero

Chapter 30

I don't own Naruto. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying to you or completely and utterly mistaken. We've finally reached this chapter and the start of the Forest of Death. Things should be getting more interesting, soon enough.

"Alright, kids," Anko began once they reached a fenced in, wildly grown former training ground with the number 44 on the gate, "This is the Forest of Death, where you'll be spending the next five days as you try to get to the tower in the center. As you go through, facing off against the elements, as you dodge the poisonous plants, deadly animals, and everything else that's out there. On top of that, each team has been assigned a scroll, either Heaven or Earth. To pass the Exam, you have to get whichever scroll you don't have and get to the tower with both scrolls in order to pass."

As she said this, several of her fellow proctors passed out the scrolls. As Sakura inspected Team Seven's scroll, Anko continued, "Everyone who is going to participate is required to sign a release form, which states that you understand and accept full responsibility for the fact that you could very easily die in the Forest if you're not careful, and that the village of Konoha and the proctors of the Exams are not liable for any injuries that you receive while in there."

Once all the forms were signed and handed back, the teams were all sent into the Forest, scattering through the Forest to make their plans.

* * *

><p>"Our scroll is the Heaven scroll," Sakura said softly to her teammates a few hours after they first entered the forest, "Obviously, we're looking for a team with the Earth scroll. We're going to need to keep an eye out for anyone who would try to ambush or attack us. Considering we have five days, we'll need to find a water source as well."<p>

"What if we get separated and someone comes in disguise?" Naruto asked, changing into Sasuke to illustrate his point.

"We'll have to ask a question that only the real person would know," Sasuke answered, "Or, we could come up with a password."

"It should probably be a long password," Naruto mused, "So that not many people would be able to memorize it."

"That would just make them seem more credible," Sakura remarked, "They might be able to figure it out more easily than others."

"I suppose the questioning would be the best option," Sasuke concluded.

As the group continued down the path, they found themselves attacked by a large snake, which batted them all in different directions. Quickly regaining his senses, Sasuke began to head back in the direction he'd been knocked away from. Upon arrival, he was instantly greeted by someone who looked like she was Sakura. Remembering what they'd just discussed, he pulled out a kunai and inquired, "What was the first thing you said to me when we first met?"

"'I broke my mother's favorite vase. She's going to be so mad!'" Sakura answered promptly, before pulling out a kunai of her own, "What did Naruto keep going on about after we faced off against the Demon Brothers?"

"Lemongrass," Sasuke responded just as quickly, letting her know that it was him.

Almost as if on cue, Naruto arrived on the scene. Both of them turned towards him, their weapons drawn as Sasuke asked, "What color was Kiba's suit, according to Kakashi-sensei?"

"Grey," the impostor said, only to suddenly dodge the two kunai coming his way. Realizing that his deception was revealed, the enemy changed into a Grass nin and swallowed his scroll, chuckling sinisterly as he said, "If you want the scroll, you're going to have to fight me for it."

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Naruto was not in a better state, as the giant snake seemed to have decided to single him out in the fight. Maneuvering to avoid the serpent, Naruto attempted to draw Hiraishin seals on the ground and trees using kunai, as he had none of the kunai that held the seal, a mistake he was regretting dearly. As he continued dodging and attempting to draw the seals, he found himself wishing that there was another technique that he could use to attack the snake. As he dodged yet another strike, the tree he'd been carving on was smashed by the snake, causing Naruto to decide to use a different tactic to get around quickly. Tossing some of the noticeable pieces of bark around as he dodged, Naruto began to use Kawarimi to evade his opponent, taking the time to throw kunai and shuriken at the beast, causing it harm. Unfortunately for the blond, while useful, this attack was not as quick as the Hiraishin, and so he quickly found himself devoured.<p>

Looking around at his surroundings, Naruto began to try to cut his way out of the snake before determining that it would take too long, as he didn't know how long his kunai could last in the snake's stomach. As such, he decided to use another technique that would probably make things easier. Making the ram seal as he mustered up the energy to get the amount of clones needed, Naruto prepared for what promised to not be the most comfortable experience he'd had.

Once the snake had exploded and he dispersed the clones, Naruto rushed off to the sound of combat and spotted his teammates trying to fight off a Grass nin who seemed very capable.

"Do you two need some help?" Naruto asked, intentionally directing their opponents attention to himself as he rushed to the battlefield.

"So, you escaped my little friend?" the Grass nin remarked, "Interesting. . ."

With that, the battle began once more.

* * *

><p>In another section of the Forest of Death, Anko Mitarashi was meeting with Izumo and Kotetsu, who had called her to investigate the dead bodies of three Grass genin.<p>

"I know this technique," she said, her eyes narrowed as she looked at the faceless bodies which didn't bleed or show so much as a trace of acid to be found, "Tell the Hokage the village security has been compromised. I'm going after the person who did this."

With that, she raced off, hoping to find him before he could do any further harm.


	31. Chapter 31

A Hero

Chapter 31

I don't own Naruto. Anyone who says otherwise is giving you false information either intentionally or by mistake. Also, this chapter gives a very small insight into what's being set up by the Sandaime.

The battle was a difficult one for Team Seven. Whoever the strange Grass nin truly was, he was clearly a higher level shinobi than genin. He seemed unfazed by anything they threw at him as if they were merely amusing distractions. Fortunately, he seemed to have decided to not summon more snakes, meaning that they could concentrate their efforts on getting that one good hit that could knock him off-balance.

"Perhaps an Academy student would be more up to your speed," he taunted as he batted Sakura's thrown kunai aside with one of his own, "None of you seem like you would be a match for me."

As he said this, Naruto attempted to carve the seals for Hiraishin into at least one kunai using a senbon as quickly as he could. Were he Minato, he would have been able to will them onto surfaces, but his predecessor hadn't taught him that particular skill. While the blond did this, Sasuke attempted to fight the mysterious Grass nin in hand to hand combat, only for his every strike to be blocked and countered with little effort on the part of their enemy.

Deciding that working on the seal would take too long, Naruto quickly lashed out, throwing a different kunai from his position behind the enemy. To his surprise, the enemy caught the weapon with a long, prehensile tongue and threw it back, all without even turning to face the blond, who quickly found his weapon embedded in his own chest. Deciding to regroup with his teammates, Naruto focused on a branch on the ground near where Sakura was and used Kawarimi to switch places with the object while Sasuke launched a fireball at their enemy, who quickly moved to dodge, only for Sasuke to continue with yet another fireball, followed by a kunai.

"Do you have a plan?" Sakura asked as the statue approached her.

"Not at the moment," Naruto said, sending several shadow clones to help Sasuke, "I can't use Hiraishin, since I don't have anything with the completed seals on it, and the clones will only slow that man down. I thought that you might have an idea, yourself."

"Just one," Sakura stated, pulling out multiple kunai and shuriken, "Take these. Sasuke told me about what you did back in Wave. I want to try to repeat it."

"That could work," Naruto mused, taking the weapons and pulling out some of his own, "At the very least, it should be a perfect distraction."

Sasuke had finally gotten a good hit on their opponent when the Naruto clones made enough of a distraction to keep him occupied. The fireball that hit managed to burn part of their face. It was at that moment that the fake Grass nin removed his 'face,' revealing himself to be Orochimaru of the Sannin, shocking the trio of genin.

"Impressive, Sasuke," the traitor said with a grin that promised great suffering, "But you are only as good as living in this village will allow you to be. Join me and I will give you more power than you could ever imagine."

"I don't want your help," Sasuke responded, pulling out a kunai to fight the Sannin for as long as he could.

Suddenly, Orochimaru lunged towards Sasuke, seeming intent on grabbing him. Before he could, however, he suddenly felt multiple kunai and shuriken and what felt like a large stone hit his back. Ignoring the pain as he turned to see his attacker, he was surprised to see the blond genin on the ground, with a few kunai and shuriken surrounding him. Knocking the boy back before he could perform another attack, he once again turned to advance on Sasuke. Pinning the Uchiha to a nearby tree as Sakura charged towards him, having spent her weapons on her attack with Naruto, Orochimaru prepared to administer the Cursed Seal of Heaven. At the same time, Naruto made a decision to try to somewhat improve the situation.

Biting down, Orochimaru heard a sickening crunch and felt a sharp pain in his mouth. Pulling away, Orochimaru's eyes widened with shock as he saw that the blond was occupying the space that the last Uchiha had previously been in. Even more shocking was the fact that the boy in question had no mark on his neck, instead, there was a few drops of blood where the bite would have been inflicted, as well as something white on his shoulder. As some blood dripped from his mouth, Orochimaru left quickly, planning on moving on to his next host. With no teeth to place the seal on Sasuke, there was no reason for him to linger.

Once he was gone, the other members of Team Seven quickly headed towards Naruto.

"Are you alright?" Sakura asked as the blond dusted the fragments of Orochimaru's teeth off his shoulder.

"Nothing a good rest won't be able to deal with later," the blond replied, sounding fatigued, "The chakra he was going to use for the seal doesn't have any direction, but it was pumped into me. I'll be fine somewhere between a few minutes to a few hours, but it's still taking effort for the Kyuubi to deal with it, since it doesn't have anything to be used for."

"So we need to be on the lookout for if you start seeming like you did on the mission to Wave. . . ?" Sasuke deduced.

"Exactly," the blond agreed, "though it'll be for different reasons. We need to get moving. He might come back at some point."

* * *

><p>"So," Jiraiya said as he left the Hokage's office, looking at the pale, black-haired boy that had been sent to him from ROOT on his teacher's orders, "Sai, was it? We're just going to go on a routine assignment of mine before we get started on what the Hokage needs us to do so we can protect the village. That's going to require seal-work and information gathering."<p>

"As you command, sir," the pale boy said, taking mental notes of what was going on in order to report them back to Danzo in the exact manner in which they happened, "What will need to be done?"

"We're going to inspect the seal that's being used to help the Kurama heiress with some issues, so we can make sure she's not having any adverse affects from it and once that's dealt with, we're going to have our work cut out for us."


	32. Chapter 32

A Hero

Chapter 32

I don't own Naruto. This is an indisputable fact, and, as a result, anyone telling you otherwise is not presenting factual data.

"Well," Naruto said once they were a good distance away from the scene of the fight, "That was interesting. We still have our scroll, right?"

"Yes we do," Sasuke replied, pulling the Heaven Scroll out of his kunai pouch, "Do you feel like you're going to turn to stone at any second?"

"At the moment, no," Naruto responded, "I'm not feeling well, but the Kyuubi is managing to deal with it."

_'And not enjoying a moment of it,'_ the Kyuubi interjected in Naruto's mind, _'I should have flushed out the less pleasant parts of the chakra in a few hours.'_

"Alright, then," Sasuke shrugged, turning towards Sakura, "Sakura, where would you say we are?"

"At the moment, I'd say we're lost," she stated flatly, "Orochimaru and the snake knocked us around quite a bit, and now we're lost. I can't even see the sun down here, so that's not much help at the moment. Someone needs to go up the trees to figure out where the sun is. After that, we just need to walk until we find a river, or something like that, and I can figure out where we are."

"I'll check it out," Sasuke said, walking up the trunk of a tree, "I'll be right down."

After a few minutes had passed, Sakura and Naruto watched as he came back down the tree. Turning to face them Sasuke pointed a bit to Sakura's right and said, "The sun was in that general direction."

"Okay, at least now we know which way's west," Sakura said, pulling out her map, "Did you see anything else that could help us?"

"I think that I saw the river that way, too," Sasuke said, "Or something reflecting the sun a few kilometers out, at least."

"Alright, then," Sakura said, "Let's move out."

* * *

><p>By the time they made it to the river, all three members of Team Seven were somewhat fatigued.<p>

"I'm feeling a bit better," Naruto remarked, "Though, I think that a break is in order."

At Naruto's statement, Sakura and Sasuke both seated themselves down beside the blond. The group sat in a comfortable silence as they regained their strength. After a few moments of this peace, Naruto broke the silence.

"So do we know where we are, now?" he asked, looking into the river.

"We're about five kilometers from the Tower, if I'm reading this right," Sakura stated, looking at the map, "We're going to need to really push ourselves if we're going to get some scrolls."

"Did you say that you were looking for scrolls?" a familiar voice inquired, "I think I could help you three."

Looking up, the trio were surprised to see Kabuto standing nearby, smiling cheerfully.

"And why would we trust you?" Sakura questioned, looking at him carefully, "Your team's involved in this, too."

"Yes, but they left me behind," he answered calmly, "So I figured that I'd stick with another Konoha team, and you were the first one I met. Oh, and my teammates left me with one of the scrolls. Do you need the Earth Scroll?"

"Do you have an Earth Scroll?" Sasuke responded. Wordlessly, Kabuto pulled out a scroll with the Earth seal and tossed it to them.

"Why are you helping us?" Naruto inquired, "Don't you want to advance."

"No, I don't," Kabuto admitted, "It seems like it'd be too much hassle to become a Chuunin, so I don't really see the point. So, can I go with you?"

"Why not?" Sasuke replied, "But if you lead us into an ambush, we will get revenge for it."

"Fair enough," Kabuto said, "So, let's go. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Jiraiya and the ROOT agent known as Sai had just met up with the Kurama Clan heiress.<p>

"How are you feeling today, Yakumo?" Jiraiya asked, "Have you been having any problems recently?"

"Not since my last checkup, sir," the brown-haired girl replied, not looking away from her painting, "I haven't heard her in my head since then."

"Good, good," Jiraiya said amiably, "Now, Yakumo, this is Sai. He's the one I told you was going to come help me today."

Yakumo paused for a moment to look at the boy, who seemed interested in her painting of the Hokage Tower. After the moment had passed, she returned to her current project and said, "Nice to meet you, I suppose. Can we get this over with? I do have paintings I'd like to work on."

"Of course," Jiraiya smiled, "Now, Sai, I'm going to be checking her seal and fixing up any damage that it's gotten since last month. I'm going to need you to look her in the eye and tell me if what I'm doing causes her any pain. If it does, then I'm not doing my job right."

"Yes sir," Sai responded, making a note of this moment to inform Danzo-sama of what had happened.

"Remember, keep focusing on her eyes," Jiraiya said, moving to check the seal that kept Ido from taking over, "That's the best way to figure out if something's wrong."

As he focused on the brown eyes in front of him, Sai found himself feeling somewhat fatigued, but kept his eyes focused on hers, not noticing any reactions that would imply that she was uncomfortable. After a few moments with no adverse reaction, Jiraiya said, "Alright, I guess we're done for the day. See you tomorrow, Yakumo."

"See you tomorrow, sir," Yakumo replied, "It was nice meeting you, Sai."

Sai was confused by how quickly the task was finished, as he felt that very little time had passed at all, but he supposed that inspecting a seal would not be too difficult for a shinobi of Jiraiya's caliber, especially if he was involved in the process of creating it, as Sai suspected he was. The only thing that was truly off about the situation was an odd feeling in Sai's mouth, but he supposed that the odd feeling was nothing to worry about.

"We'll get to work on another project tomorrow," Jiraiya told the ROOT operative, "We'll also probably need to look in on Yakumo a couple more times after tomorrow. A seal this tricky needs some extra attention, especially when our enemies could come out to attack at any point during the Exams."

Sai nodded. What Jiraiya said made sense, as the village needed to make sure that every variable was accounted for. Nothing could be left to chance when the safety of Konoha was at stake.


	33. Chapter 33

A Hero

Chapter 33

I don't own Naruto. That's about all that needs to be said about the matter. Also, we get to see what Anko's been up to.

It had been some time after they'd come across Kabuto when Team Seven arrived at the Tower in the center of the Forest of Death. Once they made it, Naruto smiled at the sight in front of them. It seemed that their friends had arrived around the same time that they had. Walking up to Team Eight, his grin widened as he said, "Hello, Hinata. Hello, Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru."

"Hello, Naruto-kun," Hinata replied, returning a small smile of her own.

"Hey, Naruto," Kiba greeted, a wide grin on his face while Shino nodded his own salutation to the statue, "So, you guys found another team with the scroll you needed?"

"Not exactly," Naruto replied, "Kabuto was alone in the forest and didn't want to go any further through the process, so he gave us the scroll his teammates left with him."

"Well, that's one way to go about it," Kiba shrugged, "Shino used his bugs to get the Heaven Scroll off of a team from Ame. Well, I'm sure you and Hinata want to be alone, right now, so we'll leave you two to it. Come on, Akamaru. You, too, Shino."

With that, the three other members of Team Eight walked away, leaving the pair to their own devices. At the same time, Sasuke was speaking with Kabuto.

"There wasn't an ambush, so I guess I was wrong about you," Sasuke said, "I apologize."

"It's no problem," Kabuto replied, shrugging his shoulders, "I would have probably thought the same thing if the situation were reversed. See you around."

Approaching the Tower, Gaara turned towards his siblings and whispered, "It is rather disappointing that the Sound team with the odd things on the boy's arms had managed to get away before we could get close to them, Lost in the forest, it would have been so easy. It would have given me a chance to help Konoha without going outside of the parameters of my oath."

"You'll probably get another chance later," Temari consoled him as Kankuro patted him on the gourd.

"The good thing about the Exam is that it's going to give you more than one chance," Kankuro agreed, "But we should probably stop talking about that out here in the open."

"You raise a good point," Temari said, "Why don't we just stop discussing what we can do for the time being."

It was at this moment that a jounin arrived on the scene to greet the present teams.

"Hello, kids," he said, only pausing to cough, "My name is Gekko Hayate. I'm going to be the proctor for your next challenge. I want all teams to group together in an orderly fashion and give me your scrolls so that you can proceed to the next event."

With that, the teams all banded together in their respective groups, presenting their scrolls as they braced themselves for what was to come.

"Good," Hayate said, suppressing another cough as more proctors arrived, "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, each of you take a sheet of paper from a nearby proctor. As you probably noticed, you each have a number. This is your assigned number for the preliminary matches. Once you get to the stadium, we're going to have a random drawing to determine just who you're going to be fighting. For the time being, get some rest, get cleaned up, and practice. My fellow proctors will tell you when you're expected to get to the stadium as they lead you out of here. Until then, see you all around."

With that, the jounin vanished in a swirl of leaves, letting out the repressed coughs as he left his fellow proctors to deal with the genin teams.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Anko was trailing through the Forest of Death when she heard a branch creak behind her, indicating someone nearby. Racing towards the source of the noise, a kunai drawn, she paused at the sight that greeted her.<p>

"Who's breached security?" Kakashi pressed, getting directly to the point as he leaped off the branch.

"How did you get here so quickly?" she asked, surprised by his sudden arrival.

"I was going to head to the tower to see my genin when they got there," he responded, "On the way, I ran into those two chuunin that you sent to warn the Hokage, and came to find you. So, who's breached security?"

"My teacher," she bit off before once again returning to her hunt, Kakashi matching her pace.

"And you wanted to go alone?" he asked, "He was able to fight his way out of the village last time, and you thought that you'd take him in?"

"No, I planned on killing him," she corrected tersely, "By any means necessary."

"And you wanted to go alone?" he repeated, irritation plain in his tone, "If you want to go on a suicide mission, I'm sure the Hokage would be perfectly willing to find you something quicker than hunting down your former sensei."

"He needs to be put down," she protested, "And I want to be the one to do it."

"Even at the cost of your own life?" he asked sharply.

"If it gets him to stay down," she replied vehemently, "And how is that your concern?"

"Obito," he said in an icy tone, "Rin, Minato-sensei, Kushina-sempai. . . I'm starting to run out of people to fight for, and you expect me to be happy that you want to make that list even shorter?"

"I need to kill him," she argued, "You know how much it means to me to be the one to finally end him."

"And you'll get your chance," he countered, "But now isn't the time. Wait until you can beat him without needing to die in the process. Besides, do you really think that he's lingering in the forest if there isn't an easy target for him? The genin should be on their way out of here by now."

"I hate when you're right," Anko sighed, putting the kunai away, "But don't think I'm going to hesitate if I see him next time. And don't even think of getting in my way."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he responded, offering her a smile with his eye, "I'll be right there with you."

"Holding my dango," she joked, her mood somewhat improved, "Now, let's go talk to the Hokage. He's definitely going to want to hear what's going on."


	34. Chapter 34

A Hero

Chapter 34

I don't own Naruto. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. We are now in the Preliminary Round, which means we're getting closer to the end of the story, and the culmination of everything that's going on at the moment. A couple of changes to the match-ups in the preliminary fights and some details for the setup are ahead.

The freshly-rested genin teams were all gathered at the stadium, prepared for the next part of the Exams. To the surprise of Team Seven, Kabuto's team was there, each holding a number. Determining that the other two must have gotten a second Earth scroll when they lost Kabuto, Sasuke nodded to the silver-haired boy before turning back to his own team.

At that moment, the jounin from the end of the Forest of Death portion of the Exam made his appearance, accompanied by a jounin with long hair, who was chewing on a senbon. The pair proceeded to lead them to the seats in the stadium that had been reserved for the genin before seating themselves at a nearby table with a jar at the table.

"Alright," the one with the senbon said to the genin, "I'm Genma Shiranui, and you've all met Hayate. We're going to be your proctors for the preliminary rounds, in which you will try to best your opponents for the chance to participate in the actual matches. Normally, we'd do this by computer, but the machine got a bit busted due to an incident that will not be explained, so we're doing things the old-fashioned way with the numbers, but we seem to have a problem."

"There is an odd number of genin participating in this round," Hayate took over, "In order for it to be fair to everyone involved, every single candidate must participate in this round once As such, if there is anyone who still wants out, raise your hand now."

After a moment of no responses, it was Kabuto who raised his hand, apparently still intent on not continuing through the Exam.

"Alright, then," Genma stated gesturing at Kabuto, "Please come up here and present your number so we can avoid calling it by mistake."

Once Kabuto's number was received, the boy wandered off, seeming to be left to his own devices.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, we can get started," Genma grinned as Hayate fished through the jar of papers to find the one with Kabuto's number on it, "I said, 'Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I think we can get started.'"

"Not quite yet," Hayate coughed as he continued the tedious search, "I still haven't found it yet. This would be so much easier if the computer was working. I swear, if I get my hands on. . ."

"Almost got it?" Genma quickly interrupted turning to watch as his friend continued muttering to himself as he continued digging. After about a minute of watching the highly-trained jounin make a spectacle of himself, he walked up to him and smiled tightly as he whispered, "Why don't you just hand me two of the ones that aren't the one you're looking for?"

Hayate paused in his search in that instant, pulling himself back as if physically struck by the idea. Resisting the urge to smack himself on the forehead, he picked up two of the numbers from the pile of numbers he'd taken out and handed them to Genma. Making a mental note to tell Yuugao about what her boyfriend did, Genma shifted the position of the senbon in his mouth and said, "Alright, Number 31 and Number 25, get over here. You're up."

"Found it," Hayate said, pocketing the sheet before putting the rest back into the jar. As this happened, Shino and a tall boy with a bandana over his head and a veil over his mouth walked up to the two jounin.

"Shino Aburame and Yoroi Akado, both of Konoha," Hayate checked off the list as he took the numbers from the pair.

"Get onto the battlefield and prepare yourselves for the match," Genma commanded, knowing that his friend would probably wind up coughing through the entire speech if he were the one to tell them, "This is a preliminary match, which is uncommon, but it is necessary due to the unusually large number of teams passing, and, as such, should you fail to defeat your opponent in this battle, you will be disqualified from taking part in the main tournament rounds, and will, therefore, not even be considered for promotion to Chuunin. Now, begin!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in another part of the village, Jiraiya and Sai were once again visiting the Kurama residence for another check-up on Yakumo.<p>

"Sir?" Sai asked as they headed towards the building, "I have a question, but I am unsure if I am permitted to ask it."

"Ask away," Jiraiya replied, making a positive mental note of the fact that the boy was beginning to do things like ask questions of his own volition, "I'll answer it if I think I can tell you or you can understand."

"Why is this task taking so much time?" Sai inquired, genuinely curious as to why the task seemed to be taking days.

"The seal we're working on is very complicated," Jiraiya answered, "There are a lot of variables that haven't been accounted for, and we need to make sure that nothing bad happens. We don't want anyone getting hurt because of a simple mistake in adjusting, after all. At any rate, the real problem is that the seal needs a lot of examination before it can be worked on."

"Were you not the one who wrote it?" Sai asked in confusion, having assumed that it was one of Jiraiya's seals.

"No," Jiraiya replied patiently, "I wouldn't make something like that."

"Why not?" Sai asked, confused by the man's response, "Would it not be a benefit to the village?"

"Seals are a dangerous art," Jiraiya said, "If you're going to put a seal on someone, you need to genuinely look at how it will affect the person, not just the things that benefit whoever you're making the seal for. Well, here we are. Remember, your job is to sit there and make sure that she doesn't look like she's in pain. Do the job properly, or it's worthless."

"Yes, sir," Sai said, finding Jiraiya's statements to make a strange amount of sense, despite what he had learned in ROOT. Idly, he contemplated withholding this conversation from Danzo, a thought that, had it been in the forefront of his mind, would have surprised him, but for the time being, it was pressed in the back of his mind as he occupied himself with the task at hand, as he was trained to do.


	35. Chapter 35

A Hero

Chapter 35

I don't own Naruto. Also, as one of the chapter stories I update monthly is done, this one will be updated on the last Wednesday of the month, instead of Monday.

The battle had begun. The two combatants stood there for a moment, seeming to be trying to weigh what they could see of their opponent. After a few seconds of this, it was Yoroi Akado who began the fight, rushing at Shino with his right hand outstretched. The Aburame, seeming to have anticipated this action, dodged to the right of the arm, a kunai in his own hand as he attempted to stab his opponent in the shoulder. Yoroi, for his part, quickly pulled himself away from the boy, who quickly moved to duck away from yet another attempt to grab him as he let out a few beetles.

As Yoroi once again moved to strike again, Shino dodged again, getting out of his line of sight as he did so. Once again leaping away as he turned to face the Aburame, Yoroi drew a kunai of his own, intent on limiting the jacket-clad boy's mobility with a blow to his leg if he couldn't manage to get a hand on him, yet.

Shino, for his part, appeared to be trying to maintain his distance, pulling back before throwing the kunai at the boy with the bandana over his mouth, who leaned to the side as he advanced on Shino's location. After a few more attempts on Shino's part to strike him with either kunai or a shuriken, the Aburame found himself once again having to move out of Yoroi's reach, throwing a kunai and sending more a few of his beetles away as he once again got out of his opponent's line of sight.

When Yoroi turned yet again, he was surprised to find Shino a sorter distance away from him than he'd gotten previously. Determining that the smaller boy was tiring, he quickly advanced on his position, intent on ending this battle quickly by draining his chakra. Shino, for his part, seemed to be still intent on dodging, possibly intending on wearing out Yoroi as he moved through the battlefield. Whatever his intent, he had clearly not paid enough attention to his surroundings, as Yoroi managed to back him against a wall. Reaching his hand out towards the trapped Aburame, Yoroi put his hand on his head and said, "This technique drains your chakra from you body. In a moment, you won't even be able to stay upright."

"Interesting," a calm voice said from behind him as the boy seemed to disintegrate into a swarm of insects in the spot where Yoroi was touching him, "Why, you ask? Because the Aburame clan has a similar technique. I believe my swarm would be best at explaining it."

Seeming to be acting on an unspoken command, the duplicate quickly split into an entire swarm of kikaichu beetles, which began to envelop Yoroi, who turned just in time to see Shino standing in front of him, watching as more insects flowed from him to his engulfed opponent. As Yoroi struggled to draw chakra from the creatures that were latching onto him, he felt himself weakening. While he he had honed his skill in order to be able to pull chakra from multiple opponents, these beetles were a greater number than he'd dealt with before, and they were drawing more chakra than he could pull in. As this continued, Yoroi sank to his knees, losing the strength to keep himself standing, let alone continue the fight. After a few moments, he finally collapsed, having completely lost consciousness.

"Winner, Shino Aburame!" Hayate shouted before breaking into another fit of coughs. As he did, Shino headed off the field, recalling his swarm from Yoroi as the medics carried him off.

"The next match," Genma called out, taking the jar from his colleague, "Will be between Number 19 and Number 10! Get onto the field!"

Quickly rising in their seats, Tenten and Kin made their way to the arena, intent on defeating their opponent.

"As with the previous fight," Hayate told the pair, having managed to subdue his cough, "The winner will be able to advance to the main tournament, and the loser will not be permitted to continue or advance to the rank of chuunin. Now, begin!"

* * *

><p>As Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the match commence, he suddenly found himself with Anko and Kakashi by his side, their expressions grim.<p>

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, "We need to speak to you privately."

"Come with me," he said, rising in his seat as he turned to the person to his left, "Danzo, stay here while I deal with this."

Once they were in a more secure location, he turned towards the jounin and special jounin and asked, "Who was in the Forest of Death? Izumo and Kotetsu told me that you were both looking into it."

"My sensei," Anko stated darkly, "He'd killed a team of genin from Grass and disguised himself as one of them. We couldn't find a trace of him, though."

"What makes you sure that it was him?" the Sandaime asked, his face darkening at the revelation.

"The technique used on the team is a personal favorite of his," she answered, "He steals his victim's face and uses it as a disguise until either he takes it off, or it's damaged to badly for him to use. He's never been the kind to teach people his favorite techniques, so the only person who'd be able to do that is him."

"I see," Hiruzen replied, trying to weigh his options, "I want you two on standby for any assignment I need to give you. I'm not sure exactly what he's after, but I have my suspicions. Kakashi, keep an eye on your team, particularly Sasuke. If my first assumption is right, then he's Orochimaru's most likely target. Anko, I want you to try to find some information, but occasionally look in on the rest of the genin. If my second assumption is right, then he's the one running Oto, and is the Kazekage's hidden ally. If we're lucky, then we can neutralize parts of his plan before they can be implemented."


	36. Chapter 36

A Hero

Chapter 36

I don't own Naruto. Other than that, there isn't really much to say for this chapter. There's probably only going to be two or three more of the preliminary fights after this one, to be honest.

As the two combatants squared off, Kin quickly began the fight, intent on preventing Tenten from being able to read her actions. Her opening strike, a quick toss of one of her senbon to determine her opponent's reflexes, was quickly countered by a shuriken, which stopped the weapon by cutting its way through the bell on the end while knocking the tool back, surprising the Sound genin.

As Kin processed this happening, however, Tenten quickly threw a pair of kunai, which Kin had to roll to escape from, throwing two sets of senbon as she moved to get behind some form of cover. To her amazement, Tenten quickly rolled in the exact same manner, throwing a pair of senbon of her own, which did nothing to harm Kin, as she was already on the move again. Seeing that Tenten hadn't fully risen from her roll, yet, Kin moved to press the potential advantage, rapidly letting loose as many senbon as she could, using both the ones with the bells and those without, performing her Shadow Senbon technique to the best of her ability.

Tenten, for her part, leapt to her feet, throwing several senbon of her own at Kin as well as to intercept some of the senbon before leaping to the side to dodge Kin's volley, throwing five shuriken as she landed.

Kin, finally understanding that she was dealing with a fellow projectile user, one who was clearly not falling for the Shadow Senbon, threw herself to the side, intent on getting out of range of Tenten's weapons. As she carefully dodged the first four shuriken, she barely managed to pull herself out of the path of the last, costing her a small section of her hair. Nodding in acknowledgment of the first strike in their battle, Kin began attacking with more zeal, now more intent on besting her opponent. By now, the battle had become too taxing on her attention for her to even try to talk down to the Konoha genin.

Ducking underneath Kin's latest strike, Tenten quickly threw several senbon, kunai, and shuriken at the girl before rolling behind a bit of cover close to one of the walls. Kin artfully dodged the barrage, slowly circling to flank her opponent as continued throwing her senbon as a means to keep the Konoha genin down.

Once again surprising the Sound genin, however, Tenten followed her circle staying just ahead of her strikes, throwing nearly countless senbon and shuriken as she moved, some striking the bells, others needing to be dodged by Kin, who found her attention diverted as they continued their struggle.

After a few more moments of this, however, Tenten suddenly changed up her method, thowing multiple kunai in Kin's path before the girl could even register the attack. As they struck, however, rather than striking flesh, the weapons bound Kin's legs to the wall by the sides her pants while pinning her neck by clinging to her scarf close enough to her neck for her to feel her pulse lightly touching the edge of two of the blade. Her hands, however, were still free, so she tried to reach for her senbon, only to feel emptiness where her weapons pouch should have been. Darting her eyes downward, she was less shocked than she could have been to find the item in question on the ground.

With that avenue out, she attempted to pull out one of the kunai by her neck, only to feel a shuriken strike right next to her fingertips. Looking up towards her opponent, she saw the girl toying with a kunai.

"Do you give up?" she asked, running her fingers along the flat of the blade as kin dropped her hand. Kin, however, had a different plan. She still had one technique she could use. Moving her hands as subtly as she could, she attempted to ring a few of her nearby bells, only to be met with a strange rattling sound, instead of the chiming that should have bought her time while her enemy was disoriented. As if in response, Tenten threw her kunai next to Kin's head, the flat touching the Sound kunoichi's ear.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't expect you to have the bells there for more than one reason?" Tenten asked, pulling out a small scroll, "You're from a village named Sound. I threw a senbon into each of the bells that the shuriken didn't get. Now, do you surrender? I've got more weapons where this came from."

Despite her pride in her ability, Kin was able to understand that she was beaten, and that she had nothing to gain from continuing. Thankful that her continued in the Chuunin Exams was not a part of Orochimaru's plan, Kin let her arms fall limp at her side as she said, "I yield."

"Winner. . .!" shouted Hayate before his cry once again devolved into a coughing fit.

"Winner!" Genma began, only to realize that they hadn't asked the contestants their names. Leaping into the stadium and raising her hand, he whispered, "What's your name?"

"Tenten," she replied, trying to keep herself from laughing at the fact that they'd forgotten to ask earlier.

"Tenten!" Genma shouted before returning to the platform, planning on making sure that he asked the next contestants their names before the fight.

* * *

><p>As they set to work in the Konoha Hospital as they'd been doing since their return to Konoha, Tsunade and Shizune were both surprised to find Kakashi Hatake and Anko Mitarashi approaching them, Anko's face grim, while Kakashi's eye seemed darker than usual.<p>

"Lady Tsunade, Shizune-san," Kakashi greeted, "We need to speak with you privately."

"Follow me," Tsunade replied, heading towards her personal office, which had been returned to her the instant she set foot back in the building. Once they were all inside with the door closed, she turned towards the pair and asked, "What's wrong?"

"The Hokage sent us to tell you this directly before you go to speak to him," Anko said gravely, "My traitorous snake of a former sensei is hiding somewhere in the village. We suspect he's involved in a plot to use the Chuunin Exams as a cover for an invasion."


	37. Chapter 37

A Hero

Chapter 37

I don't own Naruto. I also don't intend on having that many more preliminary matches shown after this one. I also experimented with Hinata's style a bit for plot's sake.

"It's time to call up the next contestants," Genma called out as Hayate began fishing a pair of numbers out of the jar, "And the lucky competitors are. . ."

"Number 12 and Number 7," Hayate stated, suppressing a cough as he spoke, "Please step right up."

Moving simultaneously despite being a few seats apart, Hinata and Neji each glanced in the other's direction, seeming surprised to be facing against each other. Nevertheless, they made their way to the field, both intent on doing their best to win.

Leaping into the field to get the competitors' names, Genma asked, "What are your names?"

"Hinata Hyuuga," Hinata said as Genma checked her name off of the list in his hand.

"And you?" he asked, turning towards Neji.

"Neji Hyuuga," Neji replied, watching Genma mark off his name.

"Alright," he said, returning to his post near Hayate, "The contestants of this match are Hinata and Neji Hyuuga! As was stated previously, the winner of the match will go on to the official matches and have the possibility to become a chuunin. Now, begin!"

As soon as those words left Genma's mouth, Hinata and Neji were both on move, their Byakugan active, each attempting to rush their cousin and keep them on the defensive. Upon reaching striking distance, Hinata quickly moved to get a hit on Neji's shoulder, only for her cousin to bat aside the strike, and attempt an immediate counter-attack.

Pulling back from the blow, Hinata quickly aimed for his side, intent on getting the first strike, at the very least. Immediately, Neji leaped out of the way of the attack, knocking her hand out of the way as he jabbed at her stomach. Fluidly leaping out of the way of his attack, Hinata repositioned herself more to Neji's left. Once she was in position, she immediately followed with two strikes, one at shoulder height, and the other directed towards his hip.

Rapidly turning to counter, Neji blocked the first strike, but missed the second. As he pulled away from Hinata, blocking another attempt to hit his shoulder, he said, "You've improved, Hinata-sama, but it will take more than that to win."

Planting his feet firmly into the ground as she tried to feint a strike to his stomach, followed by a legitimate attack on his other hip, he quickly knocked the blow aside and executed three attacks as she attempted to regain her balance, one to her right hip, one to her left shoulder, and one to her stomach.

Regaining her footing as quickly as she could, Hinata pulled away the strike to her stomach, but missed the one to her right hip, though she fortunately managed to redirect the shoulder strike to miss entirely. It was, however, a misfortune that she had gotten the strike to her hip, as her strategy was largely based in mobility, in order to counter the solid stance that most of their clan, Neji included, were trained to utilize. Her disadvantage was made more apparent when she barely managed to dodge an attempt by Neji to strike the her other leg.

Acting as quickly as she could, she attempted to get a blow in on one of his arms, only to be blocked or redirected for each move she tried. After a few more seconds of this, Neji quickly tried to press the advantage, his hands almost a blur to the audience as he unleashed a flurry of strikes, which Hinata tried to dodge, easily evading most of them, only to get struck in her right shoulder just as she tried to pull back, her injured leg preventing her from moving quickly enough to get out of the path of the blow.

Her mobility limited, and her ability to attack and defend brought to a decreased efficiency, Hinata still continued to fight for as long as she could, focusing on defending herself so she could stay in as long as possible. Eventually, however, Neji managed to get a strike on her left hip, before performing a sweep with his good leg to send her to the ground. After a short period of Hinata trying and failing to rise, Genma decided the match was over and called out, "Winner! Neji Hyuuga!"

The moment that the jounin called that out, Neji reached down and offered Hinata his right hand to help her up. Accepting his aid, she gripped his hand as he pulled her off the ground. Once Neji had his cousin's uninjured arm over his shoulder, the pair began to slowly make their way to the waiting medics to get their injuries treated, while their respective romantic partners walked up to them to congratulate them both on how they'd done in the match.

* * *

><p>As this was going on, Jiraiya found himself sitting in a large armchair, examining the copy of the seal he'd been studying as he attempted to look at ways to improve the condition of the one it had been applied to. The sessions were going well, and he was getting a good amount of time to work over the seal, but he still had no idea how long it would take before he figured out just where the weak spots were, and just how to deal with them properly without harming his "patient." Looking up from his work, he gave a pleased smile as he observed Sai and Yakumo interacting. It seemed that things were going well in regards to the pair, at least, with the boy seeming to develop and understand emotional cues, while Yakumo seemed better off mentally with someone to discuss art with. Idly, he contemplated how different the pair were from when he'd first introduced the them to one another.<p>

His musings were cut off, however, by the sudden arrival of Kakashi Hatake and Anko Mitarashi. Going by their expressions, whatever they intended on talking about was not going to be as pleasant as his current project had been, thus far. Tucking the seal into his kunai pouch, he sat up straight, intent on finding out just what the bad news was.


	38. Chapter 38

A Hero

Chapter 38

I don't own Naruto. We're almost done with the preliminary matches. I suspect that I only have one more to tell after this one. As for why these two in this match, I don't want to repeat myself in another story, and I just wanted to have these two face off.

"Next contestants!" Genma called out, taking two strips from hand, "Number 16 and Number 8!"

From his seat beside Hinata, Naruto was surprised to see Sakura and Sasuke both rose in their seats, each seeming a bit surprised to see that the other was their opponent.

"Names?" Hayate inquired, suppressing a cough.

"Sakura Haruno," Sakura replied.

"And Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke added when Hayate turned to face him.

"Thank you," Hayate said as he returned to the table he and Genma were sitting at, only to start coughing again.

Once Hayate stopped coughing long enough to tell him the names, Genma continued and said, "Next contestants: Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha! As you should all know by now, but I'm required to say before each match, the winner gets to continue to the official matches, while the loser will not even be able to be evaluated for advancement in rank until the next Exam session. Now, begin!"

Immediately after those words were uttered, Sasuke began to rush Sakura, who maintained a solid stance, seeming to plan on staying her ground. Once Sasuke was fairly close to her, however, she quickly dropped down, attempting to knock his legs out from under him. Just as she nearly made contact, however, Sasuke leapt back, throwing a pair of kunai as he did so.

Sakura's immediate response was to roll away from the weapon, tossing three shuriken as she rushed towards Sasuke, pulling out a pair of kunai as she picked up speed. While she charged, however, Sasuke immediately moved out of the path of the shuriken, letting loose a few of his own, which Sakura dodged without breaking her stride, occasionally batting a few aside with her kunai. Switching her grip on the kunai in her left hand so that it was reverse grip, she immediately lunged, only to be sidestepped by Sasuke, who knocked the kunai out of her right hand as he dodged.

As one of her two weapons was batted away, she immediately switched her grip and lashed out towards him with the remaining weapon, swinging her blade in a horizontal arc to get a strike on his vulnerable shoulder. Moving as quickly as he could, Sasuke turned and blocked the strike, only for Sakura to drop the weapon into her waiting right hand before she moved for another strike. It took a quick reaction from Sasuke to avoid being hit, but he managed to get away with just a cut on his upper-arm. He immediately launched a counter attack with a kunai of his own, managing to get a cut on the back of her right hand, causing her to drop her kunai in surprise as she pulled away. Once she was regained her bearings, she swung out with her left hand clenched in a fist, knocking Sasuke back a good distance as she drew another kunai.

The instant Sakura was close enough to Sasuke, the Last Loyal Uchiha performed a sweeping kick, which Sakura immediately dodged, only for Sasuke to successfully get a cut on her leg. As a result, Sakura stumbled ever so slightly as she landed, but recovered as quickly as she could. Unfortunately it was still enough time for Sasuke to close the distance. Before he could strike, however, she lashed out with another kunai, managing to get another cut on his arm.

The intensity of the battle quickly increased, with the pair trading blows and counters, both intent on besting the other. The match drew on for some time, but eventually, one of them finally emerged victorious.

"Winner!" Genma called out, "Sasuke Uchiha!"

Much like Hinata and Neji in the match before them, Sasuke and Sakura leaned against one another as they dragged themselves to the medics, having both take a good number of hits in the match.

* * *

><p>"Danzo, we need to speak privately," the Sandaime said as he walked up to his old friend and rival.<p>

"Very well," Danzo said, turning to one of the nearby ROOT agents Hiruzen had stated nearby, "Stay on guard while we talk."

Once they were in the silent room, Danzo asked, "What is it?"

"You remember the discussion we had previously?" Hiruzen asked, "About Suna and Oto?"

"Of course," Danzo said, "What new information do you have?"

"Anko Mitarashi and Kakashi Hatake told me that Orochimaru was in the Forest of Death during the Forest portion of the Exam," Hiruzen said, ignoring Danzo's look of surprise "We suspect that he's the one in charge of Oto, since it would give some explanation as to why Jiraiya couldn't find that much information on their leader. If our suspicion is proven right, then we have two villages and one of our greatest traitors working against us."

"He has to have someone in the village who's helping him," Danzo mused, "The best way to get into a village without getting caught is to have at least one person on the inside as a spy. Turn the right piece in a game, and you can have the perfect strategic position. He's been playing a long game. . ."

"I think that you're right," Hiruzen remarked, "Which is why I'm going to need to use a few more members of ROOT, alongside some of the actual Anbu, working in teams of two, one Anbu for every ROOT. The ROOT agent needs to be skilled at stealth, while the Anbu will be there to watch for any sign of something off about anyone they find. Am I clear?"

"I think that I have a handful members that I can put up to this, at most," Danzo agreed, "I only have a few reserve members that haven't been assigned after your last command."

"That should do well," Hiruzen replied, "Give me a list of just how many you have on hand, and tell them to follow the orders of the Anbu they're teamed up. I have a few members of the Anbu in mind, and they might need to alter the protocol if things go badly. With any luck, everything should work out exactly as expected."


	39. Chapter 39

A Hero

Chapter 39

I don't own Naruto. We've finally reached the final match of this story's preliminary matches. After this, there'll be some time before the official matches begin. Interestingly enough, for the original plan for this match, I was going to use Gaara, but that would have led to a plot hole later.

As Naruto greeted his two teammates when they seated themselves to his right, Genma once again began to speak.

"Alright, time for the next contestants!" he called out as Hayate , "Number 18 and Number 27!"

As Naruto rose in his seat, he noticed that his opponent was Sakura's friend, Ino. Accepting Hinata's wishes of good luck with a smile, the statue found himself curious as to what the fight would be like.

"Alright," Genma greeted as he approached the pair, "I'm sure everyone here know the drill by now, so, what are your names?"

"I'm Ino Yamanaka," Ino replied.

"And I'm Naruto Uzumaki," the statue interjected.

"Thank you," Genma said as he returned to the table. Once he'd seated himself beside his coughing friend, he called out, "Our next contestants are Ino Yamanaka and Naruto Uzumaki! As I have stated several times by now, the winner of this match will go on the the official matches, while the loser will not be considered for Chuunin until the next Chuunin Exams. Now, begin!"

At those words, Naruto and Ino prepared to fight. As Ino charged, drawing a pair of kunai, Naruto planted his feet firmly on the ground and threw a handful of shuriken at the blonde. Ino instinctively dodged the weapons, moving in various directions to throw him off as she moved in closer and threw both blades.

Ducking out of the weapons' paths, Naruto still kept his position as Ino prepared to fight him hand to hand. Just as Ino was about to make contact, however, her strike made contact with the flat side of a shuriken as Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke. Realizing what the blond had done, Ino turned quickly, managing to roll out of the path of a pair of kunai just when they would have struck. As she did, she quickly took out a few shuriken of her own and threw them at the blond, intent on betting the first strike.

Seeing the weapons flying towards him, Naruto once again used Kawarimi to get to another position, throwing another pair of kunai as he arrived at his destination. This time, however, Ino seemed ready, and ducked out of their path as she rushed at Naruto. Just as he once again switched positions with another weapon, Ino turned mid-stride and quickly drew a pair of kunai as she darted towards him again, seeming to be focusing on his face as she did so.

Once again moving out of her path, Naruto was surprised when one of the kunai struck him in the shoulder, the tip buried slightly in the stone before he removed it. As he felt the mark close, he suddenly found himself on the defensive as Ino began to demonstrate her skill in taijutsu. As the statue's attempts to use Kawarimi again were impeded by the Yamanaka keeping his focus on her, he found himself once again wishing that he could will Hiraishin seals onto surfaces like Minato did, or, barring that, had thought to put seals on the kunai and shuriken he'd brought with him.

Attempting to best her opponent, the blonde made sure to keep in his line of sight and keep his attention on her. If she could keep him from looking at the weapons on the ground, she could possibly beat him without having to resort to her clan's techniques. Having noticed that only strikes with weapons seemed to give the blond pause, even if they didn't draw blood, she immediately pulled out a pair of kunai, intent on wearing him out before delivering the finishing blow.

Perhaps if she'd been up against another opponent, one who did tire out as quickly as most humans did, she could have won, but Naruto, by virtue of being an animated statue, had better stamina than most humans, and was therefore able to capitalize upon that fact when the Yamanaka began to lose steam after some time and found herself slowing down. Ducking below a right hook, he performed a sweep to knock her to the ground and drew a kunai as he waited to see if she'd get up. When she failed to pull herself up, Genma called out, "Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Once the match was over, Naruto helped Ino up and carried her over to the medics for whatever treatment she needed. She'd gotten quite a few good strikes on him, as well, with many cracks sealing up as he moved, but he doubted that medics would be of much use for him, so he returned to his seat.

* * *

><p>As the matches neared their completion, elsewhere Jiraiya was, as was becoming common for him, was working on a seal as he sat with Sai and Yakumo.<p>

"Sir," Sai inquired as Yakumo worked on a painting of the Hokage Tower, "I am curious as to how much longer this project will take."

"Getting bored, Sai?" Jiraiya asked, looking up from the seal as he mused on how Sai was becoming more forward as the sessions progressed.

"No, sir," he replied, "I am merely concerned. Wouldn't delays potentially cause issues with the seal?"

"Don't worry too much about it," Jiraiya stated, returning to the scroll, "The seals structure is solid, from what I can see, and it won't do any harm for the time being. I'm mostly looking for anything that could cause long-term trouble, and so far, everything's on the up and up. Why don't you go spend time with Yakumo? I don't have anything for you to do, right now."

"Yes sir," Sai responded, heading off to do as Jiraiya suggested. Behind him, Jiraiya smiled slightly. Sai was beginning to express emotions even more. Apparently the sessions with Yakumo were doing more good than he'd expected them to. Idly, he watched as the pair began to discuss different types of brushes, as well as brands that they were particular to.

Nodding to himself, Jiraiya returned to his work. He was sure that he was on the right track, and he just needed a bit more work before he was certain about it.


	40. Chapter 40

A Hero

Chapter 40

I don't own Naruto. That's about all that can be said about the matter.

As had become common with the pair, Naruto and Hinata were spending time together in the Hyuuga Clan's garden, enjoying each other's company. Both seemed content with sitting silence, until Naruto suddenly spoke.

"Hinata," he inquired, "If I do have to go back to being a motionless statue, will you be willing to stay there with me when it happens?"

"Of course," she replied honestly, "Why would you need to ask me that?"

"Minato had told me that when Inari came for him, he and Kushina wound up getting separated by the combat until they were too far apart during the battle, and he turned to stone before she could make it to him," he responded, "I just don't want that to happen. I'd rather get to see you again, one last time before I get turned back to stone. I think Minato wanted the same with Kushina, but he never directly told me."

"I don't plan on losing you," Hinata said gently, as she placed her hand in his own, "But I promise that if it does come to that, I'll stay by your side through the battle."

"Thank you, Hinata," he smiled, taking her hand in his own. With that, the couple turned their conversation to lighter topics, putting the possibility of them being separated far from their minds.

* * *

><p>As the young couple continued to spend time together in the garden, another conversation was occurring in the Hokage's office.<p>

"And you're certain that these are all the members of ROOT that you're going to have readily available by the official matches?" the Sandaime inquired, "There aren't going to be any other ROOT members that could be returning from missions before the Exams are done?"

"For the fifteenth time, Hokage-sama, that's all I have a the moment," Danzo answered exasperatedly, "Unless either of us are heartless enough to use agents that are currently in the ROOT infirmary, and I know that you're not that evil, Hiruzen, and I like to think that even I'm that ruthless."

"You're not," Hiruzen assured him, "But that reminds me. I'm going to want you to tell your medical staff that I'm going to send some of my medics to your infirmary, and they're going to have to follow their orders to the letter. Members of a barely legal paramilitary organization or not, those are Konoha citizens that you have in there, and I want to be assured that they have the best care possible."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Danzo replied, nodding his compliance, before asking, "If that's all, then would you like to play a game of shogi? We haven't played a match in some time, and now seems as good a time as any."

"I see no reason why not," Hiruzen responded amiably, "There's still some paperwork and a bit of organization that still needs finishing, but I suppose that we could probably manage to play a game while we work."

* * *

><p>In yet another location, Jiraiya was once again with the duo who had, due to circumstance, become a scheduled part of his day to day life. As he watched the pair interact, he allowed himself a small smile. Their interactions with one another reminded him of happier times, especially given that Yakumo was coming out of her shell and Sai was beginning to show that he wasn't an emotionless drone.<p>

That thought reminded him of something that he hadn't thought much of before then. He was going to need to speak to the blond boy, eventually. He was the closest thing he had to remember Minato by, and Jiraiya had no way of knowing when the boy could leave like Minato had. Nevertheless, he could avoid thinking about the matter for a little longer, as he still had work to do. He had mapped out the seal exactly as it appeared, and he was sure that he'd found one of the key components involved in its supposedly permanent nature.

The person who designed it was good, and to their credit, they managed to put in several redundancies and empty work in case someone attempted to tamper with it, but Jiraiya was a master of seal work. He knew just where a seal was headed and what it was for with a good enough look at it, and could read and write seals as easily as breathing. Given enough time, there were very few seals that he couldn't decipher, and most of those were created by the Uzumaki clan. As such, all he needed was a little more time to work, and a bit of peace and quiet, and he'd be able to perform his modifications. Still, he had to give the seal maker a bit more credit. Despite how simple it looked, it was actually a subtly convoluted mess that worked exactly as intended. For an obvious amateur work that was left in the rough draft stage, it was a valiant effort.

* * *

><p>Later that night, near the edge of the village gate, Gaara found himself speaking with the head of Oto's spy, the boy Kabuto Yakushi. Were it not for the fact that he was attempting to maintain the illusion that he was still working with them, he would have likely killed the messenger after the discussion, but, as it was, he listened intently, wanting to know just what his friends' enemies were planning.<p>

"We're nearly perfectly arranged," Kabuto told him, "The troops are waiting outside the village borders for the moment that we begin the strike. When it gets to one of your matches, I'll set off the signal from a hidden location, and then, you should know what to do. Other than that, just continue about your business. Are we agreed?"

Gaara nodded his response. This was going to be fairly simple. All he needed to do now was find Naruto and warn him about the plan, so Konoha could be aware of the specific factors in the plan.


	41. Chapter 41

A Hero

Chapter 41

I don't own Naruto. The end is in sight, but not just yet.

It was the morning before the official matches began when Gaara spotted his fellow statue in a garden with the girl he was rarely seen outside of the company of. As the redhead idly contemplated the nature of the pair's relationship, he allowed the sandstone that made up his body to turn to sand momentarily as he passed through the gate in order to speak with his fellow statue.

"Naruto," he stated, making his presence known as he approached the pair, "We have a matter to discuss privately."

"Gaara?" the blond asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

"My oath and my nature prevent me from explaining any matters involving my village in front of any humans from Konoha or any summons allied with Konoha, particularly in regards to the current subject," he replied, turning his gaze towards Hinata as he spoke, "My apologies, Miss Hyuuga."

"I understand," Hinata replied, getting up from her seat, "I'll be by the plum tree once you've finished talking."

Once he was certain that they were now alone, Gaara said, "I have recently been given information that gives a general idea of when they intend to strike."

"What's their current plan?" Naruto inquired, his eyes immediately becoming more focused as he leaned forward in his seat to better hear his fellow statue.

"I was informed that their plan of action was to activate a signal of some kind," he answered, "The signal would be used to summon troops that were waiting at the border of the village. Said signal will be used during one of the matches which I will be competing in. If I am competing in an early match and succeed, I suspect that it will occur during the second match I participate in."

"That would make sense," Naruto mused, "Do you happen to know which border they're hiding by?"

"I do not know," Gaara replied honestly, "I was not informed of the location of the troops other than the vague statement that they are waiting at the border. Were I to guess, I would suspect that there would be at least one team near the stadium, however, but I do not know for certain."

"I understand," Naruto responded, "Thank you. I recommend acting as if you are still working towards aiding the Invasion, and that no one knows what you've told me."

"Very well," Gaara agreed, rising from his seat across from Naruto, "I wish you luck, Naruto."

"And I wish the same to you, Gaara," Naruto nodded, already planning on relaying the information he'd been given as soon as he could. As the other statue left in the same way that he'd arrived, the blond made his way to Hinata. They needed to speak with the Hokage.

* * *

><p>Meeting with the Hokage and informing him of the situation was much simpler than Naruto and Hinata had expected. Once they'd told him what had happened, Hiruzen thanked them and sent them on their way, already thinking of how to rearrange the teams he'd set up around the village.<p>

It was some time after their discussion with the Sandaime when Naruto and Hinata met up with their respective teammates and explained the situation to them, and that they needed to be on guard for any sign of conflict.. Once that was done, they all made their way towards the arena, preparing for what was to come.

When they arrived, they noticed that many of the other teams had already arrived. Giving a subtle nod to Gaara as they walked past one another, Naruto waited with the others for the proctors to arrive.

"Alright," Genma greeted as he and Hayate both arrived to greet the genin, "Now, some of you are here to enter the official matches of the Chuunin Exams. The others, I presume are here for moral support of your teammates. Now, there is an interesting difference between the official matches and the preliminary matches. The preliminary matches were done in order to decrease the number of contestants in the official matches, and therefore, contestants were required to successfully defeat their opponents in order to advance. In the official matches, a genin still has the chance of advancing without needing to defeat their opponent, if they display any sort of qualities that the examiners determine merit advancement."

"Now," Hayate coughed, "We've finally gotten the computer that normally determines who's going to compete in each match in working order. As such, we've decided to use it in the official matches for the sake of convenience. Once we've gotten it back online, we'll begin, so I want you all to get to your seats. The official matches of Chuunin Exams will now commence."

* * *

><p>In another part of the stadium, Jiraiya let his two charges be seated as he said, "I'll be nearby if either of you need my help with anything, but I'll be with the Hokage for most of the matches, as he and I have some business to take care of. If anything seems off, Yakumo, I want you stick close to Sai, and Sai, I want you keep an eye on Yakumo and get the two fo you to safety. I expect you both to be on your best behavior and keep out of trouble."<p>

Once he was certain that the duo were settled in properly, he took up his position next to the Sandaime in the Kage's section, the spot where he could keep an eye on the pair while he performed his duties. As he watched the pair from his designated area, he contemplated the defenses that they'd set into place. The Anbu, the ROOT agents, and the rest of Konoha's available shinobi forces were all arranged throughout the village and in various strategic locations around the arena, and Danzo was nearby to relay any changes to the orders over the course of the Exams' official matches. At the moment, the orders they'd given to the shinobi before the matches had begun were the standing orders, but the situation could change at any moment.


	42. Chapter 42

A Hero

Chapter 42

Naruto is not owned by me. At least, I'm pretty sure it isn't. Also, I'm updating a week early in honor of the upcoming holidays.

Once the genin were all seated and the computer was fully operational, Genma once again took the lead on the announcing.

"Welcome to the official matches of the Chuunin Exams," he called out, "Now that everything's in place, let's find out who our first two combatants of the day are!"

The screen burst into life, running through the candidates before finally settling on two. Once again fighting back his cough, Hayate said, "Our next contestants are Neji Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Both of you make your way to the arena," Genma added, "Know that in these rounds, you will be in the consideration for advancement, regardless of whether you win the match or not, provided that you show traits that the reviewers find worthy of promotion."

Once the two genin were in the arena, Genma shouted, "Now, begin!"

As soon as that command was issued, the two opponents focused on one another, seeming to be trying to determine just how to begin based on what they'd seen of the other's preliminary match. It was Sasuke Uchiha who made the first move, throwing a pair of kunai at his opponent as he attempted to increase the distance between himself and the Hyuuga prodigy. Dodging the two blades, Neji quickly advanced, moving to close the distance between himself and the Last Loyal Uchiha.

Noticing the tell-tale veins that indicated his opponent had activated his Byakugan, Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan intent on seeing if his opponent would give any indication as to what his next attack would be.

Neji struck as soon as he was near enough, aiming for Sasuke's right arm, intent on immobilizing his dominant hand. Sasuke pulled away just before Neji could make contact, and followed up with a blow aimed toward Neji's solar plexus with his left. Thinking quickly, Neji leapt back to evade the blow.

Once he regained his footing, he once again returned to the offensive, taking a solid stance as he began to unleash a rapid volley of attacks. Sasuke was skilled, but even he couldn't avoid every attack. Blocking and diverting what strikes he could, he felt a strike to his left forearm as he shifted his stance to avoid another strike aimed at his right shoulder.

Dodging to the side of his opponent, Sasuke quickly drew a kunai with his right hand and struck his opponent's outstretched arm just as the other boy turned to strike again. Moving away from his opponent as he inspected his wound, Neji prepared for another attack. As he once again moved to strike, Sasuke threw the kunai at him, then followed up the assault with a shuriken. Once again dodging the weapons, Neji cleared the distance, only for Sasuke to try to knock his legs out from under him. As Neji leapt to avoid the strike, Sasuke quickly lunged with a strike to the solar plexus.

Neji turned his body to avoid the strike, receiving a blow to the hip for his efforts.. Momentarily thrown off balance, he flipped himself into a three-point landing and quickly picked himself up to return to the battle. As he did so, Sasuke used Kawarimi to avoid being struck by his opponent, drawing another pair of kunai as he prepared for his opponent's next move.

The battle between the two continued to intensify for some time, with each getting in some strikes while attempting to avoid the heavier blows of the other. After some time, however, one of the genin emerged victorious.

"Winner!" Hayate announced, still managing to fight off the cough, "Sasuke Uchiha!"

Once he had helped Neji to his feet and was sure that the other boy could stand on his own, Sasuke made his way to the medics.

* * *

><p>As the two combatants made their way to get their injuries dealt with, in the Kage's section, the Sandaime noticed his approaching student.<p>

"Hello, Tsunade," the Hokage greeted cheerfully.

"Hello, sensei," she responded automatically.

"Are the medics on their way?" he inquired.

"Yes, sensei," Tsunade replied, subtly glancing at Jiraiya, "We've sent them to check on those in the infirmary, as you requested, and…"

"Maybe we should continue this conversation elsewhere," Jiraiya interjected, taking the cue Tsunade gave him, "We don't want the other Kages to miss the matches, do we?"

"An excellent point," Hiruzen agreed as he rose from his chair, "My apologies, everyone. We have some matters to discuss. Danzo, I need you to take my seat while we sort this entire thing out."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Danzo agreed, already trying to figure out just what he would say to the people seated around him.

"Was there some sort of trouble?" the Kazekage asked conversationally, turning towards Danzo as the Professor headed off with his students.

"Of course not, Kazekage-sama," Danzo replied, "There are just a few Anbu that are currently being held for medical reasons. When the Sandaime heard about it from their commander, he immediately began making plans for how to deal with it. Personally, I think that he's overreacting, considering that their medics usually know what they're doing, but he's the Hokage, so his word is law. On to a lighter subject, though, what do you think of the candidates that are up for promotion, considering the matches we've seen already?"

It could never be said that Danzo Shimura wasn't skilled at taking control of a conversation through words alone.

* * *

><p>As Danzo kept the Kage occupied, Hiruzen was busy discussing matters with his students.<p>

"And you're certain that it will work?" Hiruzen inquired.

"I am, sensei. I wouldn't have recommended it to the Anbu if I weren't," Jiraiya responded.

"Good," Hiruzen said, "Tsunade, I need you to make sure that the guards around the arena are all in position. Are the medics you've stationed there are particularly skilled?"

"Of course, sensei," she nodded, "They've been well-trained in both medicine, and combat, if it comes to that."

"Excellent," the Sandaime nodded, "Now, if that's all that needs to be discussed at the moment, I believe we all know our tasks."


	43. Chapter 43

A Hero

Chapter 43

Amongst the stories that I am a creator of is not the series known as Naruto. Any statement that implies that I possess ownership is an absolute falsehood. Also, we've reached three years of this fanfic running, and the end is in sight.

"Our next two combatants are…" Genma stated, shifting the position of the senbon in his mouth as he waited for the next selection, "Tenten of Konoha and Shino Aburame of Konoha! Both contestants must now make their way to the arena!"

"As previously stated, unlike in the preliminary matches, you'll be considered for advancement whether you manage to beat your opponent or not," Hayate added, suppressing a few coughs as the pair made their way to the arena.

Once he was certain that they were both ready, Genma bellowed, "Now, begin!"

Tenten began the battle, throwing multiple weapons at once, which Shino promptly dodged before following up with a pair of shuriken of his own. In response, Tenten drew a pair of kunai, before throwing them directly into the path of Shino's weapons. Once the kunai struck the shruriken, causing the lighter weapons to be thrown off their intended course, their own path diverted slightly, now veering towards the Aburame.

Countering her strike, Shino immediately used some of his insects as a hasty shield before dispersing the shield and sending several of the beetles to attack the kunoichi. Paying attention to the encroaching insects, Tenten began throwing senbon, striking as quickly as she could, with surgical precision with each needle loosed. Responding to the ruthlessly efficient attacks, Shino threw a few kunai of his own, while sending some of his kikaichu beetles on a path out of her direct line of sight.

Rolling away from the shuriken, Tenten noticed some movement flickering just on the edge of her peripheral vision. Throwing several senbon in that direction, she rushed closer towards her opponent, picking up the kunai before retreating away from the flanking insects.

As Shino recalled the initial swarm, he found himself quickly dodging the kunai he'd thrown just moments before. Regaining his footing as quickly as he could, he was taken aback by the barrage that he found himself facing. Immediately throwing up another shield made of his kikaichu beetles, he let a small number of beetles fly away from him, just enough to avoid notice.

Tenten slowed her assault after a few moments, determining that it'd be easier to strike from another position once he once again attempted to go on the offensive. Rolling near the edge of his bug shield, she prepared to make her next strike.

The moment Shino dropped his shield, several weapons began flying towards him from the left, taking him by surprise. Barely managing to dodge the attacks, he took a bit of damage to one of his arms before he managed to get out of danger.

As she continued her attacks, Shino maintained a good distance between them, rushing to keep out of range of her weapons. While he dodged and did his best to keep away from her attacks, Shino occasionally let out a few beetles, still only sending out small enough numbers to avoid detection.

It was after a few minutes of this that he finally released his trump card.

When Shino stopped in his charge, Tenten thought he'd started to tire out, and prepared a barrage to knock him out of commission without doing any majorly serious harm. It was as she began to reach for one of her scrolls that she realized that something was not quite right. Immediately, she became aware of the feeling of several things crawling on her from behind. As she slowly began to feel more drained of energy, Tenten realized what Shino had done. Throwing the boy a nod as the fatigue set in, she reached for a kunai. As she fell to her knees, she threw the kunai at her opponent, giving the boy a cut on the upper arm. She knew that she'd lost the match, but she'd be damned if she went out with any weapon that wasn't sealed in her scrolls unused.

Once the kunoichi had passed out from exhaustion and the chakra drain, Genma shouted, "Winner! Shino Aburame!"

* * *

><p>As the two opponents were taken off the field and brought to the medic station, the Sandaime was returning to the Kage stand with his students, only to see Danzo keeping the other Kages in the box engaged in conversation.<p>

"…And I turned to Hiruzen and said, 'Well, I'm telling them this was all your idea. What's your plan?'" Danzo concluded, much to his audience's amusement.

Noticing said Hokage approaching with his students, Danzo stopped talking and began to rise out of the chair, only for Hiruzen to gesture for him to stay seated for the moment.

"My apologies, everyone," the Professor stated, "We had some matters of state to attend to. Nothing too serious, as Danzo probably told you, most likely also saying that I'm overreacting, but I thought that it would be better to be safe than sorry when it came to my village's citizens. These two, if any of you aren't aware, are my two students, Jiraiya the Toad Sage and Tsunade Senju. They'll be with us for the entirety of the Exams. I just sent for some chairs for the three of us, since we haven't been able to spend time together in quite some time."

In his disguise as the Kazekage, Orochimaru found himself trying to come up with some sort of contingency plan for the current situation. If Jiraiya and Tsunade were staying in the Kage's section, then they could interfere with his fight with his former sensei once the Invasion was set into motion. No, he definitely needed to come up with a way to remove them. The only question was how he was going to do it while not causing anyone to get suspicious or drawing attention to himself or any of his subordinates.

* * *

><p>In another part of the stadium, Sai subtly kept watch for any sign of danger or hostility. Jiraiya had ordered him to take care of Yakumo, and he was definitely going to make sure that he could get her out an exit and to safety at any given moment. He had been given the duty of protecting her, and he wasn't going to let her or Jiraiya down.<p>

Beside him, Yakumo was doing the same. While Jiraiya wanted them to both leave once the trouble came, she wanted to make sure that she and Sai had an out. If it came to it, she'd use her talent with genjutsu to make sure that they both made it to safety in one piece.


	44. Chapter 44

A Hero

Chapter 44

I don't own Naruto. This is a fact that is indisputable. The end is very close, now.

"Our next contestants are," Genma once again called out a the computer tabulated the next pair of opponents, "Zaku Abumi of Sound and Rock Lee of Konoha."

"Please make your way to the arena now," Hayate stated, taking a drink of water to stifle the coughs that were lingering in his throat. As the two genin took their positions for their match, the special jounin continued, "As we're required to tell you before every single match, in these matches, unlike in the preliminary matches, whether you win the match or not, you will be considered for advancement to the rank of Chuunin, as long as you show traits that indicate that you have the potential to be a qualified Chuunin."

"Now, begin!" Genma ordered, starting the match.

At those words, Zaku immediately attempted to take Lee out with a powerful blast of air and sound from his arms. Noticing the strike aimed towards him, Lee quickly moved out of the way of the attack, throwing a pair of kunai at his opponent as he attempted to get closer.

In response, Zaku immediately aimed two quick bursts of air from each hand, diverting the weapons from their original path and setting them to rush back towards their owner. Leaping out of the way of this new attack, Lee moved to flank Zaku so he could get a hit on him. Deducing his plan, Zaku turned to track him, intent on knocking him out of the fight the instant he got the chance. As they fell into a pattern, with Lee circling and Zaku keeping his arms trained on him, the Sound genin suddenly broke the pattern and positioned his arms where the green-clad boy would be next, planning on taking him by surprise, only to be surprise, himself when Lee ducked to the opposite direction, moving closer to his opponent as he did.

"Clever move," Zaku stated as he stepped back away from Lee, trying to regain the lost distance between the two of them, "But it's not going to help. I'm going to beat you in this fight."

"We shall see," Lee said with a bright smile as he moved to keep the ground he'd gained, "I may win the day, yet, my friend."

With these words, he threw a kunai at the Sound genin, rolling out of the way of the retaliatory airwave before throwing another and moving to another position. Just as Zaku blasted the second kunai out of the air, Lee threw another one from his new spot, successfully managing to get a minor cut on the other boy's shoulder. Blinking in surprise at the fact that the Konoha genin drew first blood, Zaku began firing his air strikes in rapid succession, as he said, "Nicely done, but you're not getting that lucky again."

As he dodged the airwaves, Lee replied, "If that was luck, perhaps it will hold a bit longer, but I suspect that my flames of youth aided me as well."

"We'll see," Zaku responded, backing further away from Lee as he attempted to determine where the boy would move next.

Continuing his seemingly random movements as he dodged Zaku's attack, Lee drew a pair of tonfa, measuring the distance between himself and Zaku. Dodging another strike, he again measured the distance and determined that he was the right distance for his attack.

When Zaku let out yet another burst, he was surprised to feel a sudden blow to his right elbow and wrist, causing him to instinctively drop the injured arm. Before he even understood what had happened, another sharp blow, one to the back of his head, rendered him unconscious.

After a few seconds of inaction from the Sound genin, Genma called out, "Winner! Rock Lee!"

Smiling at the fact that he'd succeeded, Lee picked up his fallen opponent and carried him over to the waiting medics.

* * *

><p>As the match finished, in the Kage box, Orochimaru was getting more concerned as time passed. Thus far, he hadn't been able to conceive a means to get rid of his former teammates without drawing attention to himself. At the same time, Kabuto was sequestered out of sight, and, if Gaara was in the next match, he was likely going to set off the mass genjutsu, then. That meant that the snake Sannin was going to need to move quickly if he wanted them out. In the worst case scenario, he supposed that he could attempt to use them to resurrect the First and Second Hokage, but that was a desperate move of last resort.<p>

At the moment, all he could do was rely on the fact that he would have the advantage of surprise. No one expected an Invasion on the scale that he was going to attack on, and the chaos that the Suna jinchuuriki would cause would add to his advantage. For now, he would have to bide his time, and strike hard and fast at the first chance he got.

* * *

><p>In another, nearby part of the arena, Kakashi and Anko were scanning the area for any suspicious activity. They were currently in charge of the group responsible for the security of the people in there. With such a large civilian turnout, they needed to be prepared to begin evacuations. Fortunately, there were Anbu and ROOT members stationed together in seats in each section, so organization would be a simpler affair. The lack of sound from their radio receivers they were wearing indicated that their fellow guards did not notice any suspicious activity. If any sign of any manner of hostile intent was found, a rhythmic tone would be set off from the radio of the section in question.<p>

* * *

><p>Throughout the village, several other team leaders were checking in on their own troops, a sense of foreboding filling each of them as they did so. They could sense that something was going to happen soon, and they needed to be ready once the battle had commenced.<p> 


	45. Chapter 45

A Hero

Chapter 45

I don't own Naruto. The end is nigh.

Orochimaru had yet to figure out how he could be rid of Tsunade and Jiraiya when Genma called out the next pair, whose names informed him that he would need to think quickly.

"Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha and Gaara of Suna!" the special jounin announced once the results came in, "Please enter the arena!"

"As we previously stated," Hayate continued slowly as they made their way, "Unlike in the preliminary matches, you are still up for advancement if you lose the match, provided you show signs that you're worthy of advancement."

"Now," Genma announced yet again once the duo were in their places, "Begin!"

With those words, the match was joined, and several plans were set in motion.

Naruto led into the battle as he rushed towards Gaara, throwing several kunai at the sandstone boy, which were each diverted in random directions by a small wave of sand as Gaara maintained the distance between the two of them.

Changing tactics, Naruto quickly created a two clones and grabbed the right arm of one. Spinning as quickly as he could, he threw the clone at Gaara as the remaining clone continued the kunai barrage, occasionally throwing in the odd shuriken. In response, Gaara continued to deflect or block the weapons as quickly as Naruto threw it.

As the clone began to move in on him, Gaara automatically formed a slide out of sand as it flew at him, moving it in the direction of the weapon-throwing clone, still keeping the blades away from him as he did so.

Once the clones crashed into one another and dispersed, Gaara realized that he had lost sight of the real one. Turning quickly, he found himself having to throw up a quick shield as Naruto nearly slammed into him. Realizing that Naruto was closer than he'd like, Gaara strengthened the barrier and used to to shove the blond away.

In response, Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke, using Kawarimi to change positions with a stray kunai that was close to Gaara. Noticing this, Gaara immediately tried to immobilize his opponent with several streams of sand, only for Naruto to once again change positions before throwing more kunai.

The battle continued in a similar manner for some time, with each avoiding the strikes of the other and attempting to land a blow of their own. Eventually, however, Gaara allowed Naruto to get close enough for them both to speak privately.

"Naruto," he said in a voice that was soft enough for the sound of kunai impacting the hardened sand to keep it from traveling farther than his intended audience, "I believe that the Invasion is going to commence soon. Be prepared in the eventuality that I am correct."

"Of course," Naruto agreed just as quietly as he shifted positions with several kunai near Gaara, "Will we need to meet in battle once it begins?"

"I have no specific orders to follow," Gaara remarked as he continued to divert Naruto's blows, "I am merely to act as a distraction for Konoha forces as the invading forces advance and am generally expected to do as I desire. I have no reason to suspect that they are aware of the corrections done to my seal."

"Very well," Naruto nodded as he dodged more waves of sand, "I hope we do not need to meet on the battlefield."

* * *

><p>As the battle continued to rage on with neither participant seeming to tire, Orochimaru knew that it was only a matter of time before he would have to do battle with his former teammates. Kabuto was very likely preparing to unleash the genjutsu, and there was no way for him to get him to abort or to remove his teammates. He would have to be quick and careful, relying heavily on the fact that no one from Konoha or their allies knew anything about the Invasion.<p>

Meanwhile, hidden away in a dark corner of the arena, Kabuto began activating the genjutsu that would signal the rest of Oto's forces that it was time to begin. His concentration, however, was broken by a voice from behind him.

"Betrayal of your home village is punishable by death, as is espionage," the unknown person said. Before Kabuto could even turn around to deal with the interloper, however, he felt a sharp, stinging pain at the base of his skull. Perhaps, had his assailant taken the time to remove the kunai, he would have been able to complete the genjutsu, but, the ROOT Anbu in question had more pressing matters at hand. A signal had been given, and he needed to help everyone prepare for what that signal almost certainly entailed.

Across the village, commanders either saw or received word of that signal. While they prepared their troops, the enemy forces began to make their move.

* * *

><p>As many different factions outside of the arena met and began to engage in combat, Gaara and Naruto both paused in their fight as they tried to determine what their next move would be. In the Kage stand, Hiruzen gave Danzo a subtle nod, causing him to excuse himself so he could get in contact with the nearest ROOT operative, in order for him to communicate with the rest of the operatives stationed throughout the village.<p>

"What's going on?" the Iwa representative inquired, "What were those feathers for?"

"Nothing much," Jiraiya stated in a falsely jovial tone, "We're in the middle of an invasion. I'd assume those feathers were meant to be the signal for their forces to begin the attack. Is that right, Kazekage-sama?"

"How did you...?" Orochimaru began, "It doesn't matter. My plans have already come to fruition."

With those words, he removed his disguise and smirked as he said, "There's nothing you can do now. Konoha is doomed, but you three are going to fall first..."

* * *

><p>The instant that the battle between the four began, Anbu began ushering the civilians to safety, while others began to prepare for the fight that was to come. The war had begun.<p> 


	46. Chapter 46

A Hero

Chapter 46

I don't own Naruto. This is the last chapter, unless I write an epilogue, which I admit I'll probably do. Special mention goes to Hektols, who had a guess that was very similar to what I'd planned out for Gaara in this chapter.

As the crowd began to realize that they were now in an active war zone, Naruto and Gaara were both looking at the Kage's box.

"So," the blond remarked as they observed the other representatives flee while the four combatants began their own battle, "Could I find it safe to say that he isn't the Kazekage?"

"Killing the Kazekage does not make you the Kazekage," Gaara agreed, "As such, until our daimyo names a successor, I am to follow my previous instructions and ignore any commands to the contrary. I will not harm any Konoha shinobi, but I will be a distraction. Now, I believe that your village needs you."

At that, the pair immediately disengaged from the battle, each intent on doing what they could.

As this was happening, in another part of the arena, a few Kumo shinobi that had been there to observe the exams began whispering amongst themselves, contemplating how they could easily use the confusion to take the Hyuuga heiress, as they had tried years ago. This conversation, however, was cut off when each of them felt a sword's blade lightly resting against both sides of each of their throats.

"Konoha is of course grateful to know that its allies are willing to help fight the invading forces," one voice said from behind them, in a pleasant tone reserved for death threats that one was willing to carry out.

"After all," another voice said in a disturbing monotone, "It would be terrible if people died in the confusion when life could have been protected."

"So, why don't you go to the outer perimeter of the arena?" a third voice said in a commanding tone.

"We'll keep an eye out for trouble in here," a fourth growled, their blade pressed more firmly against their captive's throat, "The Konoha forces in here will make sure there isn't any funny business. Am I clear?"

Immediately realizing that they were likely outnumbered, the Kumo shinobi made their way out of the arena without turning, feeling the eyes of their assailants on their backs as they did. It seemed that there was less confusion than they'd thought, and they decided that it would be for the best if they erred on the side of caution in this.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Kakashi and Anko were monitoring the arena-turned-battlefield, each issuing their commands as Anbu and ROOT agents each moved as quickly as they could to either protect their charges or fight off the invaders. The entire viewing section for Oto had devolved into a battlefield, and the genin had joined the fight as well. The entire arena fell into a state of confusion, however, when Gaara of Suna gathered enough sand around himself to take on the form of a giant tanuki.<p>

Outside of the arena, countless battles were being joined as the invaders attempted to find purchase. At the village gates, alone, there were several skirmishes. They had planned on having the element of surprise on their side, but had found themselves blindsided by the sheer number of guards, which told them that their plans had been discovered, somehow. There was, however, no time for them to think on that, nor even time to think on how they should have been rendered unconscious by Kabuto's genjutsu, rather than already lying in wait to strike, as they were.

Anbu commanders and their ROOT counterparts were issuing orders as quickly as they were receiving information, all while attempting to plan out their next steps. It was a difficult battle, and some had received injury, but that was what they had combat medics in their midsts for. They fought as hard as they could, pushing back the enemies while other members of the two organizations continued to move the civilians to safe houses in a quick and orderly manner.

As this was happening, Danzo was sitting in a private room with a map of Konoha, the head of Anbu in the room with him as they strategized, each trying to determine where the next strike was going to come, before delivering orders to one of the sets of radios they had positioned by the table.

"They're pulling back," Danzo remarked, "All except the main body. They want us to move in so they can have more maneuverability on the other side of the gate. I recommend setting a few teams on the other side to box them in."

"We don't have the luxury of surprise as much as we did," the man in the Tiger mask mused, "We'll need to move those troops quickly. Make the call to your teams. I'll make a call of my own."

* * *

><p>Among the civilians in the safehouse, Sai was keeping as close to Yakumo as possible, holding her tightly in his arms as he observed their surroundings, in case there was any danger. Yakumo, meanwhile, was doing the same, keeping her hands on the paint and brushes she had carried with her if someone tried to attack them. They were going to make it out, and they were going to do it, together.<p>

Back in the arena, Naruto had managed to meet up with Hinata and their teammates, and were now trying their best to fight off the Oto shinobi as the civilians continued to be rushed out of the large arena. It was, however, a surprise when the stadium was suddenly occupied by a giant tanuki made of sand, who seemed to be grabbing at the Suna shinobi, pulling them inside of itself as it continued on its path.

"Of course," Naruto remarked as Sakura swung him towards a particularly large crowd of enemy shinobi, "I freely admit that I did not expect him to be as ostentatious, but it does make sense."

"Less talking, more fighting," Sakura ordered as the two teams charged after the blond, into the crowd.

* * *

><p>Inside of the tanuki, there were several voices calling out in frustration as the new inhabitants tried to escape their imprisonment.<p>

"I am afraid that I cannot let you out," Gaara remarked, "I am required to be a distraction, and this arrangement is for the sake of your continued mortal existence. You will note that there is breathable air, so you are not going to die."

"Let us out!" one captive, Gaara wasn't sure which, commanded.

"My apologies," Gaara responded, "My orders were to be a distraction and do as I see fit. Until we have a new Kazekage, as the Kazekage that issued that order was killed by Orochimaru, formerly of Konoha, now of Oto, I will be required to follow all instructions up to what is considered the official time of death. I would recommend making yourselves comfortable. You will not be released for some time, and you will soon have more company in here."

* * *

><p>As all of these groups continued their battles, the Sannin and their sensei were engaged in combat. Orochimaru's plan to create the barrier around them had failed, as Jiraiya and Tsunade had quickly dispatched his subordinates before they could even begin to create it. Nevertheless, the Anbu were too occupied to aid them in the battle, so it came to pass that they were fighting the traitor unaided.<p>

"Do you really think that it would be so easy to invade Konoha?" Hiruzen asked as he blocked another strike from Kusanagi with the Adamantine Staff, "We were prepared for your attack."

"Very clever," Orochimaru sneered, ducking under a punch from Tsunade, "But it won't help you here. If Konoha doesn't fall, you three will!"

"You're not going to find us that easy to beat," Tsunade exclaimed, lashing out with a powerful kick as she diverted another attempt to decapitate the Hokage.

"The most pathetic part of this is that you believe that," Orochimaru taunted, "I am more powerful than you can possibly imagine!"

"And more arrogant than anyone can stand," Jiraiya remarked, slapping a seal onto Orochimaru's back as he stepped into the Snake Sannin's line of sight, "And that should nullify some of your chakra. Took a while to make that, and it's not as powerful as I'd planned on the full seal to be, but that's got to sting, a little."

Growling as he leapt away from the group, Orochimaru prepared to summon the First and Second Hokage. As he tried, however, he found it difficult to use his chakra to summon the two coffins.

"Whatever you were trying to do, you might notice a bit of a problem with focusing your chakra to do it," Jiraiya noted smugly.

"That was one of mine," Tsunade supplied, "Bit of an interesting one, if I do say so, myself. Keeps you from concentrating on a summons or a technique that needs more time and precision than the usual variety. Or did you not notice the scratch on your arm?"

Snarling at the trio, Orochimaru charged. He was not going to fall to such simple tricks. They would all fall before his might.

* * *

><p>In the stands, having managed to successfully move the civilians out of the arena while fighting off any opponents that came close to them, Kakashi and Anko's attention was turned from the tanuki to the rest of the battlefield. The jounin instructors had rallied together alongside the genin in their battle against the rapidly diminishing invaders. The Suna shinobi were all but gone as they were being chased by the tanuki, which would drag them inside of itself whenever it caught them. He was being aided by his two siblings, who seemed to be fighting their own fellow Suna shinobi, throwing their opponents at the tanuki for capture.<p>

The genin, themselves, were performing a charge of their own, led by Naruto and Hinata, as the blond used Kawarimi and several kunai to attack from various positions and the heiress wove through the crowd, delivering Jyuuken strikes as she moved from one opponent to the next. They were followed by Teams Nine and Ten, while the rest of Teams Seven and Eight were on the sides of the group, blocking of any attempts at flanking.

Determining that they had the situation well in hand, Kakashi and Anko turned their gaze towards the Kage Box, only to see the Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Hiruzen fighting against Orochimaru, who seemed hard-pressed to fight them off, but was successfully defending himself against their three-pronged attack. With a quick glance between them, the duo seemed to be in perfect agreement. Leaping up, they prepared to join the fray.

Orochimaru silently cursed his situation. He wasn't able to activate any seals, he was only holding his former teammates back with the Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique, Kusanagi and what amounted to parlor tricks, when compared to what dark knowledge he knew. They should have been dead, by now! He was immortal, all powerful, yet he was on the defensive, rather than them! Even worse, until he got Jiraiya's seal off and Tsunade's poison out of his system, he wouldn't even be able to escape this body or switch into his true form.

Nevertheless, he was still certain that he would win the day. This was just a temporary setback, and once they were finally dead, he could meet up with Kabuto, get the poison and the seal dealt with, and lead his followers into battle. The Suna boy's defection was completely unexpected, but he could deal with that once he was done here. As he felt his wrist break from Tsunade diverting yet another swing of Kusanagi with greater force than the previous blows, the God of Shinobi struck him painfully in the stomach with the Adamantine staff, knocking him into the air and forcing him to drop his sword.

Sailing through the air, he realized to his dawning horror that he'd once again lost track of Jiraiya under the rain of blows from the Slug Sannin and the Professor. Adjusting his fall so that he would land on his feet at least, he felt a sort of burning of chakra rising from the ground.

"That should keep you still," Jiraiya said, "It wasn't my best design, but I think that the pain you're definitely going through from what it's doing to you more than makes up for it."

"You fools!" Orochimaru sneered, "Do you really think that this will hold me forever? I will get out, and you will all die! I am immortal and...!"

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off alongside his head as Kusanagi was grasped in a different pair of hands and used to decapitate the Snake Sannin.

"I always hated his speeches," Anko stated, Kusanagi still in her hands and Kakashi standing beside her.

"So passes Orochimaru," Hiruzen remarked, releasing the Adamantine Staff and allowing Enma to leave as he stared at the corpse of his former student.

* * *

><p>After the Snake Sannin had fallen, the tide of battle turned further in the favor of Konoha, until, finally, the arena was cleared of any enemy action, and the civilians were escorted from the safe houses. Among them, Sai and Yakumo exited the safe house they were in, each unwilling to release their grip on the other's hand.<p>

Once they were finally defeated, Gaara peeked out of the head of the giant sand tanuki and said, "I would like to surrender on the behalf of Suna. The unconscious Suna shinobi that I am going to release will awaken fully aware of my actions and are in full agreement with my decision of unconditional surrender."

That he coerced it with threats of keeping them imprisoned or 'finding a somewhat more unpleasant means of incapacitation' remained unsaid, as he saw no reason to mention it.

Across the village, the other forces were similarly victorious in battle. Once they'd received the final declaration of victory, Danzo and Tiger made their way to the Hokage to report their victory. Once they had done so, Hiruzen gave a nod to Tiger, who raised a different communicator from the set they'd been using and said, "January 17."

The effect became apparent the moment that the Anbu in the arena turned towards their ROOT partners and tapped a paper with a seal to their foreheads, causing them to go limp, only to be caught by the Anbu assigned to them.

"I'm sorry that it has to be like this, Danzo," Hiruzen apologized.

"That was unexpected," Danzo responded with no animosity, "Though, I suppose I should have seen it coming. I'm getting arrested, then?"

"Yes," Hiruzen replied, surprised by the apparent lack of a grudge.

"Can I at least make a guess before he takes me away?" Danzo requested. At his old friend and rival's nod, he remarked, "Jiraiya borrowing Sai was more than just him needing help with a project, wasn't it? He took my seal and made a counter that could render it useless with contact with another seal. Good job to you! Now, that was probably one of the simpler parts. You needed a way to get every agent that wasn't Sai at once to avoid any complications. That's the other reason you wanted every available operative partnered with an Anbu! You still needed to also be able to get access to the injured and sick, though... That means... The medics?"

Hiruzen simply nodded, still trying to figure out why Danzo was so calm about this.

"Tsunade hand-picked them, so they were definitely loyal to you," he noted, clapping his good hand against his bandaged arm, "Then, once everything was settled, you could get everyone at once and have me boxed in by all the Anbu in the arena, while also having me close to you, so you could deal with me in case of treachery. Nicely done! You always were two or three moves ahead of me!"

"You're surprisingly pleased by this," Hiruzen noted dryly.

"You beat me, fair and square," he shrugged with his good arm, "Outmaneuvered me, tricked me into giving you the key to my defeat and never let me be any the wiser. If you're able to do that, then it seems that you don't need me skulking in the shadows to keep Konoha strong. Since I'm not as necessary to protecting the village as I'd thought, I'm willing to be arrested for whatever crimes you found I committed, as I know I haven't done anything that warrants a death sentence. Would it be possible to have a shogi board put in my cell, though? I'd hate to get bored in there."

"Of course," Hiruzen agreed, seeing no harm in doing so. With that said, Tiger placed a hand on Danzo shoulder, preparing to take the willing prisoner to an Anbu holding facility.

As that happened, however, clouds began to form in the sky, causing Hinata and Naruto to instinctively pull together, both suspecting what they meant.

_Naruto, my child,_ two voices, one male and aged and the other female and young, called out, _Your time is done._

"You cannot have him," Hinata replied strongly, gripping the blond statue's hand tightly, "I won't let you take him."

_That is not your choice, child,_ the voices noted in a chiding tone, _He is my statue to command, and he is a champion. He has served his purpose, and now it is time for him to rest._

"I don't want to leave Hinata," Naruto argued, "I am happy here, with her."

_You do not have a choice in the matter, either Naruto,_ the voices responded in the stern voice of a parent speaking to a petulant child, _You are a statue, made of stone and chakra. You exist only to protect this village, and you have done that. There is no reason for you to remain, anymore than there was any for Minato before you. It is only a passing fancy that plagues you._

"I'm more than just a means of defense for the village!" he protested, "I've made so many friends in my time alive. I have a favorite food! I enjoy spending quiet moments with Hinata in her family's garden! I feel love for Hinata! Love as strong as the love Minato felt for Kushina! Please! I can't leave! I'm not ready!"

_**Inari, have mercy on him,**_ a new voice, a deep male voice interjected as a dove flew overhead, _**Look at the boy.**_

_I am, Hachiman,_ Inari's voices replied flatly, _He has served his purpose, and he has no reason to continue, now, so I have come to collect him._

_**I have known you to occasionally be fickle,**_ Hachiman's voice noted, _**But never cruel. Why deny the boy?**_

_You have done the same as I am doing with your own, before,_ Inari's voices remarked, _Why argue for him?_

_**Doing so nearly cost me both the statue and Shukaku, and would have killed the boy's soul,**_ Hachiman responded, _**The old methods are failing us, and apply unnecessary cruelty. And, as for why I argue for him, it is because of him that Gaara and Shukaku live. I repay a debt by arguing for his life.**_

_I see..._ Inari mused, _It seems that there are many here that would argue for your continued existence, Naruto. You will live, and age, with time, but, as with all things you shall eventually die. Make of this time what you will. Hinata, you will be his guide through your mortal world. I hope that you do not make me regret this decision. Upon your death, your body shall return to the simple statue that it once was. You have been given the gift of time. Do not waste it._

"Thank you, Inari-sama," Naruto said, bowing to the empty air, "Thank you Hachiman-sama, for advocating for me."

_**It was a debt to be repaid,**_ Hachiman noted, **Do not think overmuch upon it. Gaara, you will also be free to live your life. Make of it what you will.**

"Thank you, Hachiman-sama," Gaara responded, offering a bow of his own.

"Thank you Hachiman-sama," Hinata added, "Thank you Inari-sama, for giving us this time."

_Farewell, to you all,_ Inari stated peacefully, _May your lives be as prosperous as you make them._

As the clouds cleared away, leaving the crowd inside of the arena, Naruto smiled at Hinata and inquired, "What do we do now?"

"You're free," Hinata replied, "We can do what we wish, together."

At those words, Naruto thought of a pleasant moment in another village, not too long ago. Positioning himself so that they were face to face, he gently pressed his lips against hers, and was pleased to find her willing to respond with great enthusiasm. They were together, and they had their entire lives to enjoy it.


	47. Epilogue

A Hero

The Epilogue

I don't own Naruto. I'm also not quite sure how at least one of these ships happened. This chapter is, admittedly rather short, but I felt that it was the best way to end this, given all of the things that are shown. After three years, we have finally reached the conclusion of this story. Thank you all for sticking with this story for as long as you have.

Years passed, as they always do, and, as they do, things changed with time. Jiraiya officially took Sai and Yakumo under his wing and eventually had the long-delayed conversation with Naruto, making peace with the loss of Minato, at long last. The man grew fairly close to the blond, checking in on him from time to time, and had even attended the boy's wedding to the Hyuuga heiress alongside his two proteges, who had come to befriend the blond in the time their teacher spent with the three of them.

Hiruzen, meanwhile, had seen fit to finally step down from his role as Hokage, having both of his students present in the village. No one was quite sure what had happened, but after a short meeting between the three of them, Tsunade had somehow wound up becoming the Godaime Hokage. Having successfully roped his student into the role, the old Sarutobi was content to spend time visiting with Danzo for a game of shogi, and spending time with his grandson, and eventually grandchildren when Asuma and Kurenai had their own daughter, Mirai.

Shino never stopped pranking Kiba, even after they each found their own significant others in a civilian girl and Ino, respectively. Ino, in point of fact, even aided Shino in his mischief, from time to time, occasionally roping in Chouji and his wife for added effect.

Sasuke eventually gave up on his plan to kill his brother, when said missing nin apparently vanished, never to be seen on the Elemental Continent again. He and Sakura eventually married and had a daughter of their own, who was given the name Sarada.

Gaara, through no fault of his own, had unwittingly agreed to accept the role of Kazekage, eventually finding love with his assistant, Matsuri. To the surprise of many, Temari and Shikamaru also began a relationship, shocking his teammates, who had thought that he was too lazy to actually ever engage in a romantic relationship.

Neji and Tenten, of course, continued their relationship, and eventually got married, but had yet to have any children. Lee, meanwhile, was still himself, and had found love with a young civilian, producing a son, who followed his father's example, being as much as symbol of Youth as his father and Gai before him.

Anko eventually made jounin and managed to coerce a proposal out of Kakashi, having logically reasoned that the perpetually late jounin would take too long for her tastes, otherwise.

The ROOT operatives were, with some difficulty, eventually rehabilitated. While they could not remember who they once were, they were able to function as human being, albeit with individually distinguishing quirks. Sai, in particular, had managed to find both camaraderie and love with Yakumo. The pair, after some time, eventually married, and had a son of their own.

As for Naruto and Hinata, they had their time. They lived, laughed, cried, and eventually they finally married, a blissful union that blessed them with a son, Boruto, and a daughter, Himawari. They lived a happy life, and had many adventures, and, above all, they loved one another.

And so we leave them together, the statue and the heiress, and there they shall stay, together and in love until the end of their days and beyond.


End file.
